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I’ve always had a passion to travel & see the world since I was young. It started when I was in middle school & first learned about the Mayans in Mexico. I just knew that I had to see the Chichen Itza pyramid that I saw in my history textbook. I would flip through the pages & look at photos, making a note of everything I wanted to see in person. Luckily, my parents listened & we had our first trip out of the USA when I was in ninth grade to Mexico. I saw the pyramid & that was the start of my travels. Fast forward 14 years & 15 countries later, I had a lull in my travels. My 30th birthday was quickly approaching & I had a strong urge to go somewhere new before my birthday came. Having no one to travel with, I Googled “tours for singles” & came across the trip of a lifetime. It was 12 days of camping in Southern Africa, living with nature, staying in national parks, seeing animals, & being able to cross four more countries off my list. Elephants were the biggest draw of this trip, they’re one of my favorite animals & the thought of being able to see them up close was thrilling. The trip left in less then a month & without hesitation I decided to end 29 with a bang. I had never camped before so I quickly started making a list of everything I would need & packed, never thinking that sleeping in the African safari would be my first camping experience. The time came & I hopped on two plans & traveled 24 hours by myself. I landed in Johannesburg, South Africa in the morning & grabbed a cab to my resort. This was when my anxiety kicked in thinking “how did I end up in Africa alone?”. But I pushed those thoughts away & kept going. I met up with my tour group & quickly made friends, which is very out of the norm for me since I’m very shy. I knew then I made the right decision with this trip, I was meant to be there. Half way through our trip, we set out for a night of camping in the Okavango Delta. To be honest, I had never heard of this place before this trip but it was supposed to be an authentic camping night in the bush, completely untouched by mankind. We traveled an hour by Makoro through the delta until we reached our camping grounds. This was a moment in time, I wish I could freeze & live over & over again. After setting up our tents, it was very hot out so my friends & I went in the delta to cool off. Just down stream, we could see hippos & their babies taking a swim. We sat in the water & stared at these majestic giant animals. Just past the hippos, was a herd of elephants eating from the trees. This was pure paradise. A local guide took us on a walking tour where we saw Buffalo, Baboons, Zebra, Giraffe, & of course Elephants. Seeing these animals in their habitat was more incredible than words can describe. I walked in silence most of the time because I was taking in the beauty that surrounded me. I couldn’t believe this was real life & these beautiful creatures were in front of me. That night, with no light but our campfire & no wifi to distract us, my tour group & our guides sat around the campfire playing games & singing songs of Botswana. I had never felt more at home in a place that was so foreign. The next morning, I happily awoke at 5:30 am to do an early morning animal walk. I was the first person awake in my camp & as I walked out to our “bathroom” bush I saw a mother elephant & her baby walking past our camp. I stood still & silent, so I didn’t frighten them & I almost cried with the overwhelming feeling of joy. I had never camped, I had never left the country alone, & yet here I was being one with nature & feeling the peace our beautiful world had to offer. This is why traveling is my passion & why it will always be a part of my life.