I was on the cusp of turning 11 years old and wanted to plan something exciting for my birthday. It was the late '90's, long before sites like Kayak and Travelocity were mainstream. Travelers booked their vacations through a travel agent. I sat down with The Washington Post travel classified ads, found an offer for flats to rent in London and smiled to myself. I sent a quick e-mail to the address in the ad requesting more information. Operation: Birthday In London took off.

Five days later, I walked through the front door after school to see a bewildered look on my mother’s face. She had received a call from a woman, responding to the e-mail inquiry. My London vacation flat plan fizzled, but it did make my parents realize that I had a thirst for travel. They went to a travel agent and booked a family vacation to London.

Now a few decades later my love for travel has not waned. An avid explorer by nature, I have been fortunate enough to travel the world, be it a jet-setting adventure to South Africa for Thanksgiving, or a three-month cultural immersion in France - both in the same year. Wherever I travel, and no matter the duration, I enjoy all aspects of the entire journey, from discovering a city and the local culture to even how I got there. How many people can say they actually enjoy the airport?

I am fascinated by how travel provides so much more than a vacation. Traveling can bring people together – from a variety of backgrounds and experiences – and form a commonality. Traveling alone allows for discovery and reflection, and while traveling with loved ones or friends allow you to deepen (and sometimes test) your relationships. I have met people from all corners of the world. I’ve connected through sharing beers in a Parisian Café, bumming a cigarette on Ipanema Beach in Brazil and getting sweaty on a dance floor at an underground club in Berlin. Travel has given and will continue to give me relationships that can last a lifetime.