Oh the places you'll go!

If humans were supposed to stay in one place we would have roots instead of feet.

Over the past year of studying abroad my feet have walked through 35 airplanes and even more airports. Ten countries with numerous cities and sites viewed in each; the soles of my wandering feet have stepped through the same walking paths as the Incas that designed the mysterious Machu Picchu

and the same cobbled walkways as those taken by the Gladiators that fought in the Colosseum of Rome. 

The same marbled walkway that Pericles and other Athenians took to leave offerings and prayers at the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The path that the infamous Berlin Wall once stood as a mocking threat to any that dared try and pass it. 

The streets of Venice, Prague, Barcelona, Reykjavik, and Quito all so drastically different and yet somehow connected by the humbled footprints left by my feet. The Ancient site of the Oracle of Delphi where Alexander the Great ventured to in order to obtain a positive prophecy for his conquests of the then known world.

 The battleground where 300 Spartans and numerous other Greeks fought the Persian invasion of their country at Thermopylae.

The ground where the first Parliament took place in Iceland and the same narrow streets in Quito that are now an UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The romantic and tiny city of Verona where Rome fell in love with Juliet. So many awe-inspiring cities, ancient sites, and wonders of the world. Places that in a normal university year one would never be able to experience.  

May all students have the opportunity to study abroad at least once. Whether it is to discover a country they have always wanted to go to, to learn a new language or improve on one they have learned for years, or even to go someplace they never thought they would want to go.

May all students have the opportunity to live, learn, and love in a new culture. May more students go abroad then those that do not. May the fear of the unknown become extinct and xenophobia be another Greek word that no one understands.

May all university students have the drive to push themselves outside of their comfort zones. May we all go to at least one place we have never been to once a year. May our feet step in the same footprints as the greats, while simultaneously creating a path that someday another person will want to follow.  May we all encompass the brave desire to discover new lands and new people. And more than anything may wanderlust be something that everyone experiences.