Assignment 3 - Eli Flomenhoft

I have gained my love of the environment and nature from my family vacations. While most families travel to the beach every summer, my mother would take us all over the country. Whether it's traveling to national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Smokey Mountains, Acadia ... or traveling out of the country, she would make sure that we got to experience the natural beauty of each and every location. In addition to traveling across the US, I have been out of the country twice. Once, in 2013, I traveled to Costa Rica with my family. When I traveled to Costa Rica with my family I was able to experience the awe inspiring vistas, the majestic rainforests, the myriad of fauna, and the lower standards of living. While this was not my first family vacation, it was certainly one of the most memorable. In Costa Rica I experienced the cuisine and the culture, but I also experienced the poverty. This trip was the first time that I was introduced to the privileges I have as an American citizen. And when I returned to the US I came to the realization that I should use that privilege to help others. Whether it's through charity funds, or food drives, or mission trips (I have never been on one and don't plan to). My second trip out of the country was to Israel this past summer. This trip was taken with approximately thirty other Jewish teens and no parents. That last bit is important, no parents. But we did have adult supervision. No parents meant that I was able to experience Israel in a different way than would have been possible with them. Because none of the normal adults who supervise me were on this trip, I believe I learned a little responsibility. This being due to having to fly alone, budget my expenses alone, and make sure that I was in the right place at the right time alone. This responsibility can translate into the better budgeting of my time. For example, I will make more time do homework and less time for the phone. In addition to learning some responsibility, I also met and traveled with several Israeli teens. This experience made me realize that we may speak a different language and that we may live in a different country, but all teenagers are the same. It made me realize how similar people are, whether that's due to the pervasive culture of America is unknown to me. Understanding that someone halfway across the world is so similar to me has helped me understand that there are people much closer that I don't talk to because they seem them different. And maybe if I just gave them a chance, I would find out how much we have in common. Just like I did in Israel.