After experiencing the best Spring Break, full of endless nights for those of you who had a chance to enjoy it, or after getting rid of some stress by catching up with the tons of homework, most go back to school with one main thing in mind: There’s only two months of school left. It is precisely the perfect time to plan for the upcoming summer.

Unfortunately, with the fast moving pace of life, we sometimes forget that having fun and enjoying ourselves is as important as learning and working hard. It is only sad that, perhaps, due to the lack of age or confidence, most high school students let their summers go by without making the most of it. First, there are those who spend the almost three months watching their 1000 T.V channels during the week and aren’t satisfied enough to go to the movies on the weekends. Then there are those overachievers that cannot handle life without stress and hence participate in the dual enrollment program at Miami-Dade College. And finally, those who work tirelessly in a bad paying summer job to save enough money to buy a car that will never take them far enough from home.

Yet, there is something that few high school students do and that will surely make of your summer a time you will never forget: traveling. Now, please don’t picture yourselves being stuck in a cruise ship with 10,000 old retired couples, or getting kidnapped by rebels in some godforsaken underdeveloped country. Instead, imagine yourselves experiencing things that will both lift your spirits with wonder, and sink your hearts in profound and melancholic thought.

“You're so young [high school students], go somewhere you've never been before and have an adventure. Isn't that what life is all about?, Lissa Cordoba, sophomore and study abroad student, said.

Traveling, what most people think gets you drunk, also shows you which friends are really there for you. These moments that will not only depress you due to your complete lack of culture, but also teach you something you will impress your fellow college students with in the future. These are moments that will not only get you lost in a foreign city, but that will also teach you how to take care of yourself. In other words, These are moments that will define who you are.

Now, before your teacher makes you start your ten minutes of silent reading, or before I bore you with my rambling, babbling, hippie-ish love for the world, here’s what you need for your trip: 1. No adult supervision. 2. Responsibility (but not too much). 3. An open mind. 4. Some money. 5. A good friend or SMALL group of friends.

“Don't let anybody tell you how the outside world seems like...discover it for yourself,” Cordoba said.