Dear Diary,

RIP to 2015. It’s over and 2016 has begun; however, there is always time to reflect. Today I am going to be reflecting on my travels in 2015.

The year started off and the first trip I went on was spring break. I did college visits. We drove to Indiana to visit a school in Muncie and we stayed at my mom’s cousin’s house in Indianapolis. Indianapolis is pretty much like KC: there’s a lot to do if you’re over 21, but if not then it’s kinda lame. We drove from Indiana to Chicago, where we spent the majority of the trip. I visited four schools in the Chicago area and we spent time exploring all the famous landmarks. We hit up the Bean, the Museum of Science and Industry and Water Tower Place. After a few days of eating deep dish pizza and touring colleges, my dad and youngest sister departed and drove home to KC while my mom, my other sister and I took a train to Milwaukee, Wis. to tour one last school. Then we took the train home to KC. While college tour trips can seem like a bore, they are a great opportunity to explore the surrounding areas and city of the potential school you are looking at.

In May, I took two more college trips, one to Des Moines, Iowa and one to Minnesota. Both were successful, but mostly focused on the tours of colleges rather than exploring the cities and were just for a weekend.

Summer was obviously the most traveled season for me, as it is for most travellers. First, I went on the STA sponsored trip to England and France in June. I made some of my best friends on this trip and explored so many beautiful places. I saw so many monuments and “must see” places like Stonehenge and the Eiffel Tower. My favorite spots were Cambridge and Bath in England. I will always remember this trip to Europe and the hundreds of memories I made.

Then in early July, we went on our family road trip along the West Coast. We hit all the hot spots from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas to LA to San Francisco and Yosemite. This was definitely one of the best family vacations we have ever been on.

Once I started my senior year at STA, my travels slowed down and I didn’t go anywhere until November when I went to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. for a week with my mom, then met up with the group of publication students from STA and we attended the NSPA conference, a national student journalism conference. I would say this was a solid way to end out my year of travel.

2015 was filled with so many opportunities and I made so many new friends and memories thanks to my travels. I cannot wait to see what 2016 has in store!

Sincerely,

Bridget