My first trip overseas was to England for a field hockey tournament in 2003, my sophomore year of high school. There, I had been gripped tightly by a worldly hand. The experience of people and places in this adventure was far too much for such a short time period. I had visited places that were playthings in my imagination, such as London and Glastonbury. As a team we had worked very hard to raise the money needed for this trip. We baked goods and held dinners for fundraising, even saving spare change in jars that could be used for pounds once we reached the British Isles.
It was clear my urge to travel had just begun.
Two years later, my senior year of high school in 2006, I returned to the United Kingdom. Again, it was for a field hockey tournament, and again we worked hard raising money so that we could find our way to Scotland. The Loch Ness, Edinburgh, Perth, all of these cities and places that had been part of a fictional world, and now they were real. I became lost in the cities that gave their settings to great books. Their incredible existence was now tangible.
But still, my wish to see the world was only strengthened by this trip.
It became my goal to take a semester abroad in college. In the Fall of 2009, I made it back across the ocean. Back to England where I became an international study abroad student at Kingston University. But, this time, I was alone. There was no field hockey team built around me for support, it was only me, and I flourished - taking myself further than I could have in America. I travled to eight countries: England, Ireland, Wales, Norway, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy. I was a student outside of the classroom and learned to grow dependent on myself.
But, as much as I assumed my travel need would be satisfied, it was not.
Which is why after a year from college at Oneonta State, two years after studying abroad, five years from my second trip and seven years after my very first trip to the United Kingdom - I am returning for the fourth time. This time, I am an adult. This time, I am going with a purpose, a master degree in Creative Writing and Publishing. This time, everything I do is independent. While I worked hard, and saved up years for my previous trips, this time it will take more than saving money to succeed. This time, I am on my own, and the lesson of depending upon myself has never been more important...
Kristin Bergene: Paris, 2009. Photographer: Allie Harcharek
... FOR MORE ABOUT ME as an artist, visit my - webpage - or as a writer, on my - online portfolio. On either site you can see a list of my achievements.
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