Home is where the heart is

While traveling is set up to be this wonderful adventurous experience, from time to time it's nice to appreciate where you came from. Home is not only the one place you feel most comfortable, but it's also where all of the people you love are. As of now I'm so excited to be leaving for college, however I also don't really want to go. At first I was contemplating going far away (either to central florida or american university of paris) but then I thought of what I would miss the most. I finally decided on staying in Pennsylvania because although I complain about it on a daily basis, what would I do without my family? A lot of people don't like to leave their friends after senior year but for me it's definatly my family. All of my best memories are with my family, and to be honest I consider them my best friends.
Another thing about traveling is that your always in a different bed. Don't you ever get tired of not being able to climb into the bed you've had since you were 5? I know I do... and when going far away nothing is farmiliar. While walking down the streets of Pennsylvania you can find Dairy Queen, Fridays, Olive Garden, and many other things. When your not in Pennsylvania you don't see those things and you will more than likely miss them. So for me it's important to never stray too far from home, and always come bac for visits. :)

Temple University

I was thinking about colleges today and I found it to be a good idea to put all rumours to rest about Temple University. When telling people it is my top choice for choosing colleges, there are a few things that are always said. Number one: You're going to get shot. It actually really bugs me when people say this because 75% of people who say this have never even been to Temple University. My mom was really shakey on the idea of me going there, but then we visited. The campus is beautiful and newly redesigned. The campus actually has it's own police force and I truely felt safe at all times. I will admit that the surrounding area around Temple is not my favorite, but I would compare it to the surrounding area of Pitt and nothing worse. I love everything about Temple... i love that I'll be in the city, and so close to philly cheese steaks :). I love the dorms, the dining halls, and the fitness center. I can't wait to spend the next four years there!

Sweden

Before you begin reading, it's probably important to know that I've never actually been to Sweden. However it is by far the number one place I want to visit before I die. Even though I have never been to Sweden I know a lot about it because I love traveling so much, and as geeky as it sounds, when I'm bored I like to learn about different cultures and areas around the world. I've wanted to visit Sweden ever since I was little, mainly because everything is beautiful there. The main city in Sweden is Stockholm and when looking at pictures your breath gets taken away... that's how beautiful it is. Not only is the scenery beautiful, but so are the people! Sweden is the number one market for high fashion models all over the world, so they must be pretty beautiful. Also during christmas my aunt likes to make Swedish recipes since she is Swedish (were not related :(). The food is delicious and I'm sure actually trying the real thing while visiting would be amazing. My friend tisha is currently studying abroad in Italy and met a Swedish guy names Nicoli. I've been skyping with him recently and it's fun to learn new words in a language you never thought you would get to experience. He tells me all about Sweden and sometimes I almost feel like I'm there. I can't wait to visit someday.

Razzy Fresh!

Like I said in previous posts, you don't have to be going far to call it traveling! :) I had to include a post about Razzy Fresh because it is my all time favorite place in Pittsburgh. I could definatly say I'm in love with Razzy! My first time going there was last summer with some good friends before they were heading off to college. We headed out to squirrel hill and when we stopped in front of Razzy, we had to go in. The colors of the shop were neon green, yellow, purple, and pink and we had no idea what it was. It was a tiny little room no bigger than half a class room but boy was it tasty. They have ice cream machines set up on all the walls, and you crab a cup and fill it with however much ice cream you want. You can chose up to about 16 flavors which include rasberry, peanut butter, chocolate, and many many more. I usually get peanutbutter, strawberry, chocolate, and cookies and cream ice cream. Next we move on to the toppings table which has every single topping you could ever imagine. On mine I usually get peanut butter cups, cheesecake chunks, oreos, and m and ms. If you dont end up getting the toppings it can be very healthy for you because it's actually just frozen yogurt. I always get the toppings anyways. The next station you move to is the weighing counter. You put your cup on a scale which weighs your dish and thats how much you end up paying. The more icecream, the more money your spending! Then they have little tables set up for you to eat and chat. I really reccomend this to anyone who has never been because it's an incredible, tasty experience!

Washington DC

Washington DC is one of my favorite places because my family are all history buffs. We try to make a trip out there at least once a year because my cousin lives there and works at the Pentagon. This year when going to DC it was even more interesting to me because I had finally decided I wanted to be an accountant for the rest of my life. My cousins an accountant at the pentagon and let me follow her around at work one day which was amazing. I hope to be able to do that one day as well. The next day we went sight seeing which I never sick of even though I have seen it all numerous times. I love the licoln memorial and get a picture with it every year. It's so big! After sight seeing we head off to eat because were all usually starving by then. There is a quaint little pub on the corner near the pentagon and the food is delicious, we tend to go there every year and fill out stomachs till we think were going to puke. After a long day we head back to my cousins condo and get some rest before going out the next day. Washington DC is so much fun and I highly reccomend it to anyone who has never been before

Canada

A couple years back me and family traveled to Canada on a whim. My mom woke up one morning and told us to pack our things because she decided she wanted to go on a road trip. I had no idea where we were going and this wasnt like my mom at all so I was a little bit nervous. The ride took FOREVER to say the least and I ended up falling asleep at multiple points but eventually we got there. When getting there my mom announced that we were in Canada and she was so excited about it. I was feeling excited too because it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We started off at Niagra Falls, which was awesome. I got to stand behind a waterfall so close I almost felt like I could touch the water rushing down in front of me. Since I was so little though I dont remember too much about this trip, however I still remember what it looked like, and how beautiful it was.

Outerbanks

Every summer me and my family go to the outer banks. I guess you could say it's a tradition, which is nice because I get to see my brother and sister who are gone at college all year. We leave for the beach the day I get out of school and rent a huge house with ten bedrooms. The reason we get such a large house is because it's not just my immediate family, but my whole family which is about 20 people or more. The whole week we basically just relax at the beach and go out to dinner. We usually kareoke at a kareoke bar, and get ice cream or frozen drinks. We go crabbing nightly which isnt my complete favorite but I dont like to miss out on the fun. The days at the beach are long and filled with boogey boarding, sun bathing, and sun burning (ouch!). Where we stay in the outer banks, there is a place near by where we can go shopping some nights and it's called timbuck 2. This is probably one of my favorite places because they have so many cool things to buy, and the best fudge in the world! The fudge shop is actually a singing fudge shop and every year I get ice cream and fudge mixed together and it's amazing to say the least. I love visiting the outer banks every year, and cant wait till next summer!

Germany... airport

It would be nice to say I’ve really been to Germany; however I’ve never been outside of their airport. Whenever traveling to France, we made a pit stop in Germany. You’re probably wondering why I’m writing about Germany if I’ve never exactly been there, but believe it or not being in their airport was one of the best times I’ve had… ever. Landing in Germany, we landed outside and had to catch a trolley to take us into the airport. This was new to me because any time I have flown we always would land next to a terminal. Taking the trolley to the airport was the first thing that I enjoyed because overall it was an extremely hilarious situation. I was just about the last person to squeeze onto this fully packed trolley and I was basically half on the stairs, and half on the bus driver. Everyone around me was speaking a different language and every time the trolley would go over a bump, it seemed as though people would shout out crude words in German and the driver would throw his hands up in the air and scream something back. This was so funny to me and I laughed the whole way to the airport lobby. Arriving at the airport lobby I noticed a kid my age sitting down waiting for his plane. I had about 6 hours until I was to catch my next plane so I had plenty of time to do nothing. I thought it would be interesting to strike up a conversation with a foreigner who I would never see again so that’s exactly what I did. His name was Alban and he was from Sweden. We got to talking and he told me stories of his childhood, some shocking and some similar to my own. I bring this up though because a story he told me will stay in my memory for many years to come. When he was a small child he lived in the country of Kosovo close to the border of Albania. One morning Serbian forces attacked his village and rounded up the families. He said that they put them in a line and he was closer to the end of the line. One by one the Serbian forces were shooting families down and leaving them for dead. Two families before Albans, they just stopped. He didn’t know why but he said he’s so thankful and lucky. The Serbian forces issues all the remaining families to leave, so Alban and his family moved to Sweden and that’s where he has lived ever since. I was so shocked by this story and it was very cool to learn about someone’s past and how they had been in a situation like that. Me and Alban are still very good friends and talk on skype from time to time. It’s funny that you can meet good friends in a German airport!