To start off, I lived in Switzerland for several years and this gave my family and I the opportunity to travel to many places in Europe. Switzerland itself, as many know, is a beautiful country: the Alps, the rolling fields and cows, the bustling cities. I speak from experience when I say that it's really an ideal place to live.

While living in Switzerland we made many endeavors to immerse ourselves into their culture. For example, my parents are huge fans of Gluhwein or "glowing wine". Gluhwein is essentially warm wine that the Swiss serve at their annual Christmas markets. Another major thing we were introduced to was Fasnacht. Fasnacht is a massive festival in February where people throughout Switzerland ride on floats around cities and surrounding towns in eccentric masks throwing confetti, candy, and fruit at you.

When my family and I visited Turkey in 2015 , it was truly a fascinating country with phenomenal food. Whilst in Turkey we stayed in an all inclusive hotel that was not located near any of the major touristy areas so we envelope ourselves in their community as much as I would have liked. However, we did go out for two of the days that we were there.

Riding public transport in a new country can really open one's eyes to the everyday culture of the people living there. What I took from those bus rides as an eleven year old was that the Turkish people were not living in the best conditions but making the most of what they had. I remember that in the city we visited, many people wore tattered clothes and there were an abundance of poor and sick people. I can still vividly see a homeless man with a foot that was so swollen and infected that I was afraid if he walked on it it would burst. I joined Global Pathways, so that I may have a chance to help those who are often forgotten in these large, beautiful countries. I mention this not to ignore the brilliance of Turkey but to acknowledge the underserved. Turkey, was well and truly gorgeous with clear water and sandy beaches; delicious food and upbeat music. It is definitely a place I hope to visit again.

I singled out Geneva, Switzerland because it was one of the first places I visited in Switzerland where I felt like I was not in Switzerland. A typical Swiss city is full of brick buildings, shingled roofs, bridges, rivers, Swiss flags, and old accents such as gargoyles. Geneva, on the other hand, had all of this but felt much more modern. In Geneva we went to the elegantly set up markets and walked down the cobblestone streets for what felts like hours till we made it to the United Nations Geneva head quarters. We also walked to the Jet d'Eau which literally translates to "water jet."

Lake Como, Italy is one of my favorite places on Earth. I have visited Lake Como several times and it only gets more gorgeous with each visit. Lake Como, is located in Northern Italy's Lombardy region and is full of Renaissance architecture. Lake Como is surrounded by the Alps and has a town located on its edge.

Como was the first place in Italy I had the chance to visit. It exposed me to amazing paninis, pasta, pastries, gelato, and pizza. Essentially, it was everything you could ask for. We visited with my grandparents about two years after moving to Switzerland and it was so much getting to show them around and getting to watching them experience something new.

The Carpers, former neighbors from Cincinnati, and my family met up in Italy and travelled to the top tourist destinations. We went to places like Pisa and Rome, as well as the Italian country side. Out of the places we visited, Rome will always stand out to me. Rome is already infamous for its rich architecture and history, nevertheless, hearing about Rome will never compare to seeing it in person. Rome is truly an exquisite place. It has the most wonderful food (gelato, pizza, pasta, etc.) and its ancient stone monuments bring about so many questions like "How were ancient Romans able to build such sophisticated building and statues?" After having taken Latin for four years a lot of these questions have been answered and I wonder what it will be like going back to Rome again after having learnt so much about it.

I went to Czech Republic about two or three years ago, and it such a historically rich country. It has the most beautiful sights and markets, and the people are very friendly. We drove from Switzerland to Nuremburg with a stop at Europa Park on the way, and from Nuremburg we went to Prague. One memory from our trip to Prague that will always stick with me is on our way back from a Riegrovy Sadie park we stopped and bought the Czech delicacy Trdelnik which is a essentially a cone made from a donut covered in brown sugar and cinnamon and filled with ice cream.

When I went to Spain we travelled all over, going to major tourist destinations like Barcelona and Madrid. Spain is practically one big art piece; it is unimaginably beautiful, full of architecture you would see nowhere else in the world. I have seen more churches in my life than I can count, but the Sagrada Familia is different from any church, anything I have ever seen. Its architectural construction and artwork surpasses anything I have ever seen. Spain is a very lively, outgoing country and place I would happily visit again.

London is a city we all know and love, and for good reason. London's vast history and buzzing atmosphere makes the city so electric. While we were there we saw Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, and we also went to see the Lion King on the West End, which was a huge surprise . It was a very eventful, unforgettable trip.

My dad is originally from Dungarven in Waterford, Ireland. We typically go back to Ireland every two years now that we're back in the States, however, when we lived in Basel we would visit more regularly. Waterford, and Ireland in general, despite its typical gray sky, is full of rolling fields, stone buildings, delicious, hearty food, lively pubs, and very kind people. Dungarven, Cappagh is a small part of Ireland about four hours outside of Dublin. My Grannie lives on a farm in a small house with a beautiful garden My Uncle, who lives one green field away, runs my Grannie's farm all the while taking care of his horses. My other uncle lives across the street from my Grannie. That uncle, Uncle Brendan, owns his own farm which he runs with his three young sons. With the exception of my Uncle Johnny who lives in Australia, my aunt Mags who lives just outside of Dublin, and my aunt Mary who lives in Dublin, the rest of my aunts and uncles are scattered throughout Cappagh with their own farms.

Every time we go to Ireland I try to eat as much food as I can. Crunchies, 99's, and my Grannies dinners of bacon and cabbage are to die for. In Ireland I also tend to spend most of my time across the way at my uncle's house. His wife, Catherine, tends to spoil my siblings and me. Additionally, my older brother Cyril loves to help out on the farm.

As I said, we tend to go to Cappagh every time we visit Ireland because of this, my parents figured it was time we travelled around the huge island. During this trip we went to Cork, the Aran Islands, Galway, Dingle (seen in picture), and more. The scenery was always amazing and we even did a bog run which was 100% disgusting, but, surprisingly, something I am willing to do again.

California is pretty much what everyone says it is: sunny, active, and on-trend. Travelling around California is really like seeing a whole new side to the United States. When we went to California we started in San Francisco and worked our way down the coast to San Diego. California was such a wonderful trip, all of the fresh food, markets, shops, beaches, and sunshine made it a very memorable trip. We stopped and saw Stanford, we went to Pebble Beach, we biked the Golden Gate Bridge, and hiked Yosemite National Park (that was in our first trip to California in which we visited Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and numerous other parks and canyons). I will definitely be back.

I went to Canada around 8 years old, nevertheless, the trip is still vivid in my mind. During our road trip around Canada we went to Niagara falls and stayed in a hotel that had a view of the water. We also went to Montreal and stayed in a town house that had a slanted cieling. Montreal was really interesting to go to because it was the first time I had stayed at a place that spoke another language. Canada, overall, is a place I would really like to revisit and go skiing at, I've heard really good things about their skiing.

New York City was the first place I visited after moving back to the U.S. We only went for a weekend but it was a very eventful. We took the car up from Boston to NYC and stayed in a hotel close to Time Square. While we were there we went to Rockefeller Center, Time Square, Broadway, Macy's, we saw the Macy's Day Parade as well as a the movie Creed II, and the Broadway musical Waitress. We also did a lot of walking around and instead of having a traditional Thanksgiving's Day meal, we got Chinese food.

When we went to the Netherlands, like many of our trips, it was a road trip. We drove up from Basel, Switzerland to Cologne, Germany where we had Berliners and saw the Cologne Cathedral. From Cologne we went to Amsterdam and onto the Keukenhof flower garden. Next we went to Kinderdijk, then Brussels, then to a NASA museum on the way to Luxembourg. At the NASA museum we participated in a virtual reality exhibit in which they put you in a bungee and it feels like your on the moon.

I've gone to Paris twice, once with my American cousins and the other time we went up for two or three days to meet my aunts from Ireland. The first time we went to Paris was the time we saw everything: the Eiffel Tower (though we didn't go up it), the Louvre, the Arc de Triompfe, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and the Musée d'Orsay. The second time we went Paris we did more strolling of the streets and actually went up the Eiffel Tower which resulted in an amazing view of the city.

We went to Solden on a ski trip. The snow covered mountains are gorgeous and the sunrises breath-taking. I have never skied in better conditions than Solden, granted we did have issues getting down to the bottom of the mountain before the gondolas closed once or twice. But Solden is definitely a place I would recommend going to even if you don't do any winter sport, especially considering that a James Bond film was shot there.

I went to Lagoa about 2 years ago, we spent most of our time at an all inclusive hotel which we only stayed at because it was supposed to be our last trip before we moved back to the States. Outside of the hotel, we spent our time at the beach. One day, we also went to a water park where we met up with my Irish cousin and his parents who were also visiting Portugal. Another very memorial day was when we went paddle boarding in the gorgeous Benagil, Caves. It was an unforgettable trip.

Cincinnati, Ohio is where I was raised and the hub of all family life. Currently, we visit almost every summer and Christmas. We stay at my grandparents house which is visited constantly by my aunts, uncles, and cousins which I love because it gives me a chance to see everyone. I really love going to Cinci, outside of seeing family, because it gives me a chance to shop as well as swim in my cousins pools which is pretty much the highlight of every summer.