Columbia

It's funny how things happen in life. You know one of those, "I should've seen it coming..." sort of things? Well, Columbia was that should've-been premonition for me. I started going there for Missouri Scholars Academy my sophomore year in high school, then just sort of proceeded to continue almost every year after that - for Science Olympiad, orchestra, or anything else really - yet never thought anything of it.

Then, after turning down a full ride (pretty much) at Northwest MO State and earning 2 free years at community college and graduating from Disney University in Orlando, I somehow managed to end up here yet again. The effect is similar to that of the Bermuda Triangle.

I have found that it is a major part of the state of Missouri due to the fact that it contains three colleges and universities in it, however it is lost in the depths of time when it comes to the real world. For instance, the yellow lights are just as long as the green ones and cameras do not yet exist on the stoplights to make the sheriff's job easier - while he wears his over-sized hat that looks like it came directly from the '70s - but when Senetor Obama came to town and gave his "Yes We Can" speech before becoming president of the United States of America, you should have seen the turnout.

I love that the police are truly dependable here and wait on almost every intersection on the first day of school to help ease traffic flow. And that no one seems to mind if you're liberal or conservative, a college student or a doctor, a woman or a man. It has become my home when I am away from home.

Niagara Falls

A cold, windy place with fog so thick you could barely see where you were headed to. If you want the true experience, with the water flying in your face and the temperature so low you can feel your fingers falling off, go to Canada.

It was beautiful. And loud. And beautiful. And it's at that moment I realized the true power of water. Not the stuff you get out of the tap after it's been filtered by sedimentation or radiated with ultraviolet light 'til the algae and parasites have died and all that comes out is only half of what actually went into the purification process to begin with... But just pure water. Remember, the stuff fish poop in?

In your hand it reflects the colors of your skin and in a cup or at the back of your tongue it can relax your muscles at the end of a long and hard day. But in a mass, such as a large waterfall or moving river, it can kill you with ease. It can drown you just by drinking too much of it. And it doesn't care. Seriously, have you ever seen how massive it is?! And yet we take this majestic essence for granted all the time.

So next time you go to your 'fridge with a cup in hand - thinking about the cool liquid as it glides down your throat and quenches your thirst - remember where it came from. And that no matter how much of it is in the world, so many people are without it.

Cleveland

I've grown up thinking Missouri has some of the worst roads in the United States. I was WRONG. But it's not just the roads that are odd, it's everything on them as well. The drivers are chaotic and very inconsistent it seems. When you're in Kansas, they'll run you over with their pick-up truck. When you're in Los Angeles, you could walk faster than you could drive. When you're in New York City, watch out. And when you're in Cleveland, guess. You never know how the person in front, behind, or next to you will be driving. Oh, and don't get pulled over by the police in Dodge Chargers for going 3 miles over the speed limit.

On the bright side, it’s quite the diverse little city and has a surprising amount to offer its visitors. The Botanical Gardens’ “Release of the Butterflies” is more than beautiful. The Science Center is a fantastic wealth of knowledge. And who would pass up the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame in the birthplace of Rock 'N Roll?

Also a positive aspect - the murder rate has dropped in this 4th highest crime rated city by about 30%! Still above the national average, though. My recommendation - don't walk around the suburbs outside of downtown alone at night.

But all in all, it's a fantastic place with a beautiful shoreline and a lot to experience. A must-see city.

San Antonio

(In this picture, the image of the lions, the painters and people, the sky, and even the tree and shadow are all part of the same mosaic.)

There are some cities that when you think of them, they remind you of family or giant architectural feats of man. San Antonio stood out to me more as a city of art and culture. They take great pride in their mosaics and crafts - especially of Hispanic or Native American descent.

The sidewalk chalk art seemed like a waste of talent - I almost wanted to cry when I realized it would be washed away in the next rain, it was so fabulous. The small shops were suburb in carrying original, hand-made items. I bought a set of 7 llamas made of some sort of precious stone I still have yet to figure out what. I don't even like llamas! Everything was so outrageously simple, yet somehow detailed - and every shop had something new.

It was kind of a nice change in pace, though, from some other Texan towns to find San Antonio not quite as populous as I thought it would be. The streets we tended to travel down were not concrete, but brick. And the Alamo was not nearly as packed with tourists or protected as I had set in my mind's eye. Nevertheless, when I visited there, it was almost as if I had stepped back in time inside the museum and could witness everything through my imagination.

This was definitely not a city I would think of off the top of my head as a big hit for a tourist spot or a must-see for your next vacation, but as far as family trips go, it is perfect. The atmosphere is unique, the weather is wonderful (of course), and the people are nice. I would not mind going back.

Orlando

Experience is a powerful thing. When people talk of it, it mainly refers to work experience or other non-fun things like that, but what people don't tell you is that with experience comes the memories. Some are wonderful. Some are sad. However all are worth the "experience."

Hundreds upon thousands of people visit Walt Disney World every day, but few get the experience of living there. How many people do you know woke up to the sight of Cinderella's Castle, the Epcot ball, or Mickey's wizard hat every morning? They say not only is it the happiest place on earth, but also the most magical. Happy, well.... that's relative to the people you're with. And as for magical, that I do believe. There was one night I was walking across the park at 12am and was admiring the landscape and very smooth pavement as I dragged my feet home for the day. The very next day, as I entered the park around 6am, I found a whole new building that wasn't there before! We're talking indoor plumbing, fully functioning kitchen, the works! Where it came from, I will never know. Magic.

Too many of us lose that power to make believe whatever we wish to believe and I think the fact that a company out there still encourages us to do that is fantastic however they wish to do it. Granted, I did get to see the inside workings all the way down to the nitty-gritty that no one would EVER want to see, but I never lost sight of what they were trying to do. It was too incredible an idea to give up.

Not until I left did I realize that you really can do anything you want to. Sure, your parents always say that when you're a kid, but I never believed it. Did you? I do now. Tomorrow I think I'll be an astronaut....

Kansas City

Home sweet home... The Missouri side, that is. It wasn't until I traveled outside of Missouri that I realized people don't go to the mid-west much. I've been asked so many seemingly-rhetorical questions about it.

Caution! Real and stupid questions ahead... "Why don't you have an accent?" "Where's your cowboy hat?" "Is your back yard made of hay?" "How many cows do you have?" "How do you like it down there in Kansas?"

I don't live in Kansas. I've never had a cowboy hat (personally they make my head look funny). Mizzou is the top school in the nation for journalism due partially to the fact that we don't have accents here. No, I don't own hay, but my cow Betsy's doin' just fine, thank ye very much.

It wasn't until I decided to look at my own perceptions about the world that I found where they were coming from. Egypt isn't just sand dunes and pyramids. Hawaii has more than small-town shops and pretty beaches. And Disney World isn't really the happiest place on Earth.

But even though there are bigger (and possibly better) cities out there, I wouldn't trade this biggest "small town" for all the world. I like that the greater city area is larger than St. Louis and I love that you can carry on a conversation about carrots with a stranger in the grocery store checkout line. Try that where you came from... Yeah, that's what I thought.

New York City (x4)

The City that Never Sleeps. They should call it the City that Never Changes. I've been there so many times and for some reason I keep expecting it to change, but I'm disappointed each time. Albert said it best when he dictated the definition of insanity: "doing something over and over again and expecting different results." Yet, I look forward to it every time.

Wonderful city. Full of color, lights, sounds, smells.... Oddly enough it's clean (relatively) when considering the amount of people that live/visit there. My favorite thing about it, however, isn't the giant Coke ads or movie posters or going to see what used to be the TRL watch spot. It's the fact that you can walk down the street ten times and find a different shop you didn't know was there the first nine times you passed it. The plethora of mom-and-pop shops amazes me - especially considering you can have a multi-million dollar corporation squeezed in there somewhere and you'd rather pass it to go to your favorite small-time family pizza parler that serves it for twice the price, triple the waiting time, but somehow makes it taste so much better.

Tourists always go to the big spots: Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, Lady Liberty... But it's the little stuff that makes the city. Next time you're in New York City, try looking at the little side shops. Yeah, yeah... I know the Toys 'R Us has a Ferris wheel inside it and you can buy an actual bag from Gucci, Coach or whatever the latest name brand is, but be rational - are you really going to spend $105 on a sing-and-talk Elmo or $413 on a shoe? Just one shoe? Who buys just one shoe?

Stop following the flow of traffic and look left. I guarantee you you'll see something you never knew existed. And not only will what you buy be cheaper and help pay for someone's overly-priced electric bill, you can truly say you "got it in New York!"