I have returned to university after solo backpacking overseas, to become a world history teacher in secondary schools. My experiences as a military child and beyond have laid the foundation for this path. Growing up in a military family and having to move so much as a child, getting out there and trying new things never scared me. With my mom being deployed often throughout my childhood and my dad working, I was encouraged to be independent and solve my own problems. Because of the military, my family exposed me to a variety of cultures which inspired me to later solo backpack to 15 countries. My parents’ biggest lesson for me was to be resilient and make a plan. The plan will almost never go accordingly, but being able to pivot at a moment’s notice when obstacles arise is crucial. Each time I hit obstacles and thought I reached my limit, I knew I could keep going. Instead of coddling me, they were able to help me regroup when I needed them and encourage me to figure out my next steps. While traveling, I worked as a camp counselor teaching English at summer camps. These camps have allowed me the most opportunity to be a leader not just for children, but for my adult peers as well. It reinforced traits my family instilled in me, like being a leader while maintaining a positive environment around me. These jobs inspired my career path and reinforced the need to be comfortable making friends fast and interacting with people from different socio-economic backgrounds, as I have had to do many times as a military child. At each camp, I work with up to 100 people from diverse backgrounds. I step in and aid less experienced counselors wherever I can, often orchestrating and leading group activities with 60+ kids by myself. On my breaks I create scavenger hunts, murder mysteries, cardboard costumes, etc. on my own. I teach activities to other counselors in my free time, encouraging teaming up in groups so other counselors could gain experience by assisting me. Having first-hand experience of other cultures and ways of life from backpacking will be beneficial when I become a world history teacher. I will passionately share what I know with students who may never have even left their home state. Working with international students myself, I saw how limited kids and teens know about other cultures. They were always asking me questions about America because they do not have ready access to Americans in their own lives. It is the other way around also, besides in major cities, American kids are not often exposed to other cultures up close. Sharing my experiences could completely change students’ views of the world and what is possible for them to achieve. Understanding the reality of other nations and cultures is crucial to seeing one’s personal community and life from a different perspective. Hearing about cultures and the world from a passionate teacher is much more useful than trying to expand one’s horizons from online blogs. I want to inspire students to look outward to other cultures to consider different approaches and solutions to problems in their communities. Students are often afraid to fail, and it is because of how teachers frame failure in the school systems. Like my parents for me, I intend to work towards reframing failure and setbacks as being steps to learning and growing independence in students. Through my family’s encouragement and support, I understand what I want, my strengths and preferences, and what I need to do to achieve my goals.