Waking up to the sound of pancakes flipping, bacon grease sizzling and crackling in the pan, and the smell of toast wafting from the toaster through the little house has become very easy to get used to in a short time months of the summer I spent in Tucson, Arizona. The summer I started my ninth year of high school it was chosen that I would go stay with my grandmother in Arizona along with a couple of other family members. My mother came up with this idea in hopes that the experience of getting out of Milwaukee for a summer would broaden my knowledge outside of the Milwaukee area. The conversation between me and my parents about whether or not this would actually happen didn't go as planned, my concern was that the travel would slow me down in my summer athletic pursuits. Eventually the idea of ​​the trip grew on me and I saw the possible positives that could come from it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before I knew it, I was landing and heading to get picked up. One of my older cousins ​​came to take me to where I would spend the summer, at my grandmother's house. In the car during the trip it gave me a chance to talk about what I wanted to get out of my time here. I told him I wanted to (broaden my horizons) and get a sense of what it was like to be a college student away from home, better yet a student athlete away from home. Since I was away from my normal schedule, I had to get used to a new one. I asked my cousin if we could set aside some time with each other to at least sit and talk and delve into his experiences and see if he could give me some ideas about college. He agreed because he saw that my passion for my sports was serious as was my interest in going to school out of state and he knows what it's like to do both. A month later, my time in Arizona was over and it was time for me to return to Milwaukee. Looking back and reflecting on my time there I gained a lot. One big change was that I have now opened my mind to considering colleges outside of Wisconsin. Before going to Arizona my mind was made up, my plan was to stay here in Wisconsin and pursue my college education with credit, that was all I knew was doable and logical. For now I'm looking at colleges across the country and have also done some research on universities abroad. I attribute this to my short vacation spent in Tucson a few summers ago visiting various landmarks and even seeing the university, really helping me gain exposure to new things outside of my norm. In addition to this, I feel that the first-hand experience I had with my cousin and the in-depth knowledge he imparted to me during my time as a student athlete has really given me a clear picture of the lifestyle I hope to lead one day.