I arrived for the first time in Paris in June of 2018.

It was my second time in Europe, but first time going there alone with just a backpack.

I had traveled for 24 hours straight to get there, with stops in St. Louis, Chicago, and Iceland.

When I finally stepped off my flight into Paris, it felt like walking into the unknown. Although I was a little unsure of what I would be doing, I also had this feeling that it was the start of a new beginning. So instead of giving in to the feelings of uncertainty, I chose to have confidence in myself that I would figure it all out.

Being that I don’t speak any french, it took me a bit to find my way around, but eventually I ended up at the Louvre, home to some of Europe’s most famous art, including the Mona Lisa.

Staring at the Mona Lisa was a cool experience. It’s behind bullet proof glass, and there’s a rope that keeps people from getting any closer than probably about 10 feet from it. It’s been around for over 500 years, and yet it still draws crowds of 50 plus people at a time, pushing and shoving their way to the front, to look at, and take selfies with the Mona Lisa. It’s amazing to think of all the history attached to one small 30 x 21 inch 18 pound painting.

What’s funny is that as a kid growing up, I remember I had absolutely zero interest in going to art museums. Zero. I always thought they were boring, and I was more into my own stuff anyway. I never really fully appreciated them, until I started seeing the value they could have in my life as a learning tool. What better way to connect with the past, and learn new ideas, that to see how I could build off of what’s already been created.

Anyway, the best part of this whole trip was the strangers I met along the way. I met people at the Louvre from Boston who ate lunch with me, some other people that I ended up going to a small carnival with, people at the Eiffel Tower who happened to live within an hour or two of me back home in Missouri, and strangers to sing and dance with at a Bruno Mars concert at the Stade de France.