With horns blaring in my ear and bright lights making it only possible to look down at my feet, I take a deep breath of the semi-polluted air and start to bump my way through the crowd ahead.

New York City is one of the most amazing places on the planet, or so I was told. Naturally, I had to see it for myself. However, going on a trip is no easy task because there’s hours of research, planning, calling, website visiting, and saving. But nobody likes that part. Everyone just wants to go somewhere and take a few pictures and eat a few nice meals in peace. But unluckily this usually is not the case. Most trips end up being just one long walk after another and eating at the same fast food restaurants you see down the street from your home. Most people do not ever learn the real way to make a trip memorable because they are looking in the wrong place.

A trip is made memorable because of the people that you go on it with. I’ve learned that the view at the top is not what matters but that the people you climbed the mountain with do. After going on over 10 out of state vacations, I have become fairly reliable at finding the right places to see and getting the best price, but nothing is as important as the 7 people you try to jam into the back seat of 1 New York taxi cab because you do not know if you will be able to get another one to pull over.

Traveling does not always have to be something big and grand. It can be simple like floating lazily down a river in a tube while your hands are in the cool water and your feet are suspended in the air. There is something new to see every day on this planet, you just have to know where the right place to look is. BYU is my next place. And I know that if I get the chance to attend that it will be the greatest start I can hope to have.