Adventure Impact: A dream of travel teaches independence

My name is Milca Ek and I graduated from West HS with the class of 2024. I'm currently enrolled at Metro State University majoring in Nursing. My future plans in life are to be a mother one day and have the stability to travel with my family just like my parents showed me and my siblings from an early age. Traveling has been a blessing. It has taught me the importance of cultures and love for places and people but has inspired me to seek a lifestyle that embraces travel and cultures.

Through my high school experience I tried my best to stay active in the West community. During my sophomore year the trip to Greece and Italy was being promoted. I was very amused by this and decided to tell my dad about it. He supported my decision and pushed me to go on the trip. I have been traveling since the age of three to Mexico and places through the United States. Although I had experienced what a plane ride felt like and what it was like being out of the country, Europe seemed surreal for me. 

The West Travel Club was very supportive of all the students that went on these school trips. During the trip it felt like a new family had been created. I became friends with people who I did not talk to at school. My favorite part of the trip was going on a cruise for the first time. The cruise took us to Mykonos and Santorini and they were beautiful. During our two nights in the cruise we would have lunch and dinners together and the laughter never ended. At nights we would have karaoke together, for example. Seeing everyone having fun in a different country at a young age and experiencing new things was definitely heart warming. These are stories that are core memories. Another favorite of the trip was the free time we got. We were learning how to communicate with people who spoke another language and buy souvenirs for all my loved ones at home. Seeing the art of the vendors, even simple things like keychains, mugs, shirts was my favorite part because I’m taking a piece of that country back to my home.

After taking my first trip with the West Travel Club I realized how important independence was. I was able to get out of my comfort zone and try to do things on my own. During my first trip to Europe I gained independence. I adapted to new surroundings, transportation, and the different accommodations which challenged me to not be comfortable where I was but to explore and grow confidence in my ability. An example of this was during my visit to the Vatican. I went with a friend to buy gelato. We stayed in line trying to learn how to say it in Italian; we listened to how the locals would speak and we used google translate as well. It was a challenge but we tried our best to immerse ourselves in Italian. 

Furthermore my trip to Costa Rica and Panama was very memorable. It was my senior trip and I learned about the importance of culture and people. Costa Ricans embrace living in the present moment. They appreciate the nature that surrounds them. After seeing what Pura Vida is like, it definitely inspired me to change my mindset into being in the moment enjoying what I have and traveling more. An experience I had during the trip was seeing a waterfall and swimming in it, not worrying about anything but enjoying my moment. 

My love for traveling was always there but going to Europe and Central America expanded it and I want to challenge myself to take a new trip every year or two. I want to travel to Latin America first and see how different but special every country is. I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had through West to travel. Most importantly I am thankful to every person that made it happen: the West Travel Club, my parents, and the scholarship donors that make these dreams and turn them into reality.