When I was a kid, family vacations consisted of loading food, sleeping bags, tents, and various supplies into a van and traveling to different national parks, museums, and hiking trails. We didn’t go to Disney Land, major cities, or massive theme parks. We saw Mount Rushmore, Crater Lake, the Oregon Trail, and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home. The east coast, and all its cities, landmarks etc., was as far removed from my childhood as China or England. It was something to read about, but never to actually experience.

When I came to Middlebury College, I knew that I wanted to see and experience the east coast. I didn’t get to visit Boston, New York, and Washington D.C. during the regular school year, so I planned a two week trip over the summer. I stayed with friends, visited historical sites, ate delicious food, and explored the three cities.

In New York I had my first New York Bagel (I don’t know if I am going to be able to eat a non-New York bagel ever again), in Boston I climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument, and in D.C. I was able to visit the national mall at night. I was up at seven in the morning and I didn’t fall asleep until about eleven o’clock at night. I tried to see as much as I could, but the more I saw the more I wanted to see. You could spend years visiting these places and never fully explore all the nooks and crannies. I walked about 13 miles every day, and I ate as much delicious food as I possibly could.

Places that stand out to me are the Boston Public Library, Botanical Gardens, MET, Highline, Italian District, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Museums, Freedom Trail, and parks. It was an amazing trip and I had a blast! I also really enjoyed meeting up with various MiddKids along the way.

Even though I had a wonderful time on my trip, I was excited to come home. I realized just how special Middlebury is and how much I have changed over the course of one year. I am not the same person that I was when I first came here. The community at Middlebury is incredible. I have been influenced, shaped, and changed by it. I look forward to next year and I can honestly say that choosing to come to Middlebury was one of the best decisions I have ever made… For both my academics and my personal growth.