Having grown up in Dubai, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, I have always been an enthusiast of cultures. From a young age, I was able to travel to countries like Nepal and Thailand due to the UAE's close proximity to Southeast Asia. However, it wasn't until my gap year that I truly fell in love with traveling as a lifestyle, and as a way to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone. After working for eight months, I set off to Sri Lanka to do a volunteer program in a town two hours South of Colombo. Two days after arriving, the country declared a Covid lockdown, and flights back home were about to be suspended . In that moment, I had two choices: immediately turn back around, guaranteeing a safe return home, or stay. Needless to say, I chose to stay. In the six weeks that I stayed there, I grew so much. I became close to my co-volunteer, Lucy, the program manager, Ash, and the girls at the orphanage which we spent almost every day with. I ate the most incredible assortments of curries, including jackfruit and pumpkin curry, and developed a much higher tolerance for spicy food. I felt pure happiness when I was there, and had a large sense of purpose. From there, my next choice was to fly to Spain, where I visited family. I then flew to Italy, where I traveled the Northern part of the country - I visited 9 cities/towns in 12 days, some days alone, and some days with a friend. Being able to explore quaint towns, eat plenty of gelato, and swim in the Italian Riviera was blissful. Since those three months of travel over the course of my gap year, I have chosen to constantly chose the adventurous path. I matriculated to Tufts University in Boston in 2021, my first time living in the USA. While that was a completely new experience, I have not stopped there. As a language buff, I have also spent time doing study abroad programs, where I have continued to connect with fascinating cultures. I spent my entire rising Junior summer in France; six weeks of which included studying in a small town called Annecy, and then one month interning in Paris. This experience, however, was a more comforting one as it made me realize how European I was actually raised thanks to my Spanish mother and British-Indian father. In my Junior spring semester, I did an intensive Arabic program in Amman, Jordan, where I also lived with a local host family. While being a difficult semester, I experience so much of Arab culture and became proficient in Arabic. Despite having grown up bilingual, it was my first time only speaking a language that wasn't English as we had a full language pledge in order to learn Arabic. To be able to make lifelong friendships in a foreign language gave me a resilience I will always carry with me.