From Appalachia to Shanghai: The Wonders of Travel

Jeremy Ball
Class of 2017

Nearly 3 weeks ago I left the United States for a journey - one I will not return from until early August. Rewind five years, and I would have never imagined I would be spending my summer before senior year traveling to four countries. In fact, as a first generation college student from the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky, it would have been hard to imagine a world beyond my gaze at the highest point of land on the farm my papaw owns. But here I am, in China, at the start of what will be a lifetime of adventures across the world.

My adventure began in Germany, and my travels have since taken me to the Netherlands, and now to China. My month in China, which only began a week ago, has already become one of the most uniquely amazing opportunities I have ever had, and one I owe the McConnell Center immense gratitude. Whether it's eating food I never imagined I could eat, to exploring Shanghai, one of the most vibrant cities I've ever experienced, I have truly realized how travel has become a passion of mine. 

Disconnected from social media, I'm immersed in a culture so unique I could never describe it. 12 hours ahead of home in a city more populated than the country of Canada, and I truly realize the contradiction of how big and small our world is, and how one should make an effort to explore every corner they can. Travel is about discovery. Defining who you are, and what you want to do. You surround yourself with people who are very different from you, don't understand you, and then you realize there's more to communication than language.

While I still have a while left in this country before my next adventure to the Middle East, I am truly loving what I have experienced thus far in China. I have grown closer to my class, seen sights that a picture won't do justice, reaffirmed that I must live a life of travel, and know now more than ever that the daily routine of home is one I cannot allow myself to permanently fall into. I am learning more about myself and the world now than I have in the 21 years of my life prior. Travel does wonders for the soul, and I am reminded of a quote I believe everyone should live by:

"Adventure may hurt, but monotony will kill you."

Leave home. See the world. And find yourself.

Jeremy Ball is a senior McConnell Scholar studying political science and economics at the University of Louisville.