My hair looks different, my backpack is always open, and I have a medium brown complexion. I'm sun-kissed. I am kissed by the sun. Now, if you live in Boston or in Medford, where I go to Tufts, and you saw me walking down the street, you'd probably make nothing of it. 

I was waiting for the ferry from Montevideo to Buenos Aires with my friends a few weeks ago. A long way from Boston. I was charging my phone when a kid walked up to me and asked in Spanish "Why are you brown?"

"You're brown all over. You look like soil."

Situated along Italy’s Adriatic Coast in the Emilia Romagna region, Ravenna is an often-overlooked location for travelers. But there is much to discover in this history-laden town, from Roman and Byzantine structures to art and culture to crypts, libraries with cats, and adventures galore. Find your home base via Azzurro Club (check for seaside locations, so you can have the best of history, culture, and beaches), and then get ready to explore!

Israel has an incredible diversity of landscapes and cities, and there’s a little bit for everybody. You’ll be happy if you want to stay all day on the sunny beach, and you’ll be equally happy if you’re one for old buildings and fascinating history. But if you’re an adrenaline junkie, you’ll be especially fulfilled, as opportunities for adventureplentiful in Israel. Wake up the Indiana Jones in you and get moving!

If one was to ask you your favourite heritage destination in India, you must mention Jaipur, aka the Pink City. Here, you will have an experience of a lifetime, especially if you love Rajasthani food! The city speaks volumes about India’s culture through its larger-than-life forts and palaces. Home to the renowned Jaipur Literature Festival, this heritage city has much to see and do, incluring Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, The City Palace, and the evergreen Ranthambore National Park! 

Resilience is a many-faceted quality. More than bouncing back, more than making it through, more than stepping up to face a difficult situation, yet resilience may include aspects of all those things. It is a quality needed in day to day life. Events on the world stage and how they may impact that day to day life also call for resilience. It's a quality affected by one's resources, background, and perception. One way to increase those resources is to hear stories of how others confront such disquieting and challenging circumstances. 

In this world of continual distractions, those with the ability to be present enough to notice things have an unfair advantage. My drive from Utah to Minnesota has taught me that I can have that advantage, too. All I have to do is remember to breathe, pause, and focus on one thing at a time. A long road trip is the perfect place to practice this sort of thinking.