The first time I flew on a plane, I was 18 years old traveling to Orlando for a journalism conference. I remember I was shaking in my seat, my travel companion talking me down that anxiety. I remember the plane taking off—I immediately felt a sense of excitement and calm.

That rush of the unexpected and possibility. When I was a little girl, I did not see myself seeing the world even though I yearned to. I was afraid of the unknown—afraid to take risks and try new things.

I have come a long way since my first flight to Orlando. Since then, I’ve traveled to Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Colorado, France, Montrèal, Ireland—and many more places that have inspired me and provided some of the best memories. I thought that it would be fun to share a list of 20 places I want to visit domestic and international (in alphabetical order):

1. Arizona (particularly Grand Canyon and Monument Valley)
2. Australia
3. Barcelona
4. California (all of it!)
5. Civil Rights Trail in the Southern U.S.
6. Fiji
7. Greece
8. Hawaii
9. Iceland
10. Italy
11. London (November 2018!)
12. Nashville and Memphis
13. New Zealand
14. Paris (September 2019!)
15. Prague and Vienna
16. Quebec City
17. Scandinavia (Finland, Sweden, Norway)
18. Scotland and Northern Ireland
19. Seattle & Vancouver
20. Switzerland

How about you? Have you been anywhere on my list? Thanks for reading and keeping up with my journey.