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readergirlz is a literacy and social media project for teens, awarded the National Book Foundation's Innovations in Reading Prize. The rgz blog serves as a depot for news and YA reviews from industry professionals and teens. As volunteers return full force to their own YA writing, the organization continues to hold one initiative a year to impact teen literacy. All are welcome to "like" us on Facebook!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

May: Have you ever taken a trip that changed your life?

Our May Feature
Laura says:

Sophie's trip to Mexico and Guatemala makes her see herself - and her life - differently. Have you ever taken a trip that changed you or your life somehow?

Is there a trip you want to take someday? How do you think it might change you?

18 comments:

a girl said...

I am on a trip that has changed my life literally overnight. In a blink of an eye I am no longer a career woman but a SAHM. I am no longer in familiar territory where I can navigate, I am in a different part of the States. My motto is - an girl having an adventure every day. I have to keep up beat about the changes that occur.

Barbara Ehrentreu said...

I went to India and I was no longer the same when I got back home. It gave me a deeper appreciation of who I was and where I was from. It opened me up to all the possibilities I had never thought existed. Also it gave me a greater appreciation of different cultures and people.

Melissa Walker said...

Going to Guatemala changed my perspective on things. I try to remember to appreciate each day, and each small luxury that I have. Because many of us really live luxurious lives in the US.

Unknown said...

I took a trip to Japan last June. It really made me think about the world. People there are sooo much nicer and polite!! Why can't others be like that?

Erin said...

I'm about to take a six-week trip to Arizona, which very well might change my life...we'll see.

kathleen duey said...

*Every* journey I have ever taken has changed me. I spent about 6 months in the Yucatan/Belize years ago. I look forward to reading Red Glass.

CJ Omololu said...

I loved Red Glass and am glad it is getting a spotlight.

I spent a year abroad in college in Scotland and it changed everything. During school breaks I would travel alone to Ireland, England and Italy, staying in hostels and meeting people from all over the world. I never thought I could go it alone, but surprisingly I could. Anyone who can take a year abroad should go, go, go!

Little Willow said...

There are places I'd like to see and many things I'd like to do.

Laura Resau said...

I'm on a trip to NYC now, and really enjoying reading about everyone's life-changing trips! My decision to live in Oaxaca (which ended up being a two-year trip, followed by shorter return trips) changed my life in some of the ways Sophie's trip changed her life.

I wanted to live abroad after college and get immersed in another language and culture, but at the same time, the idea terrified me. My time living in Oaxaca and traveling around Central America helped me get over many fears and anxieties-- it showed me that life is full of interesting surprises and good-hearted people... And my friends and adventures and favorite places ended up inspiring Red Glass and What the Moon Saw.

Traveling always feels a little scary to me-- leaping into the unknown-- but that's the stuff adventures are made of, and ultimately, I LOVE it...

Beth Kephart said...

I had not heard of this book until I began to hear of it through all of you and I cannot wait to read it. Glad I waited until now, glad that my own book on Juarez is done, so that I can simply read, feel, live.

Thank you for all you do.

What a classy cover, too.

Not to mention that I've kept your Readergirlz site up for the last hour so that I can listen to this music that I love.

Shelf Elf said...

It had been my dream for a long time to go to Paris before I turned 30 (after which point I would be officially jaded and unable to see the city with romantic eyes... LOL). My fella planned a huge surprise on my 29th birthday and we headed to Paris the following summer. That trip changed my life. The jaw-dropping beauty of the city, all of the famous places and works of art I saw when I was there, and having the chance to make a dream come true all combined to just reignite my passion for life. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. I came home from Paris wanting to see more of the places I've only ever dreamed of or read about. It made me appreciate how big the world is, how there are so many places full of magic and beauty (and wine... and chocolate... and art).

To visit: Florence, Japan, Kenya

Erin said...

I LOVE that story, Shelf Elf. Makes me happy. :)

Justina Chen said...

Like Kathleen, every trip changes me, some in huge cataclysmic ways and others in smaller almost invisible ways. Guatemala and rural China--huge spiritual movements went on inside me. The extreme poverty hit me so, so hard. And then Bryce Canyon reminded me how rare and special our time on earth is.

Dia Calhoun said...

The trip that changed me forever was my first trip to my husband's family's orchard in the Methow Valley in Eastern Washington. It changed my life and has graced me with three books now. It's amazing how place feeds the creative spirit. I am so glad I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I do wonder though, how much of the magic is in the place, and how much is in what you bring to the place.

Lorie Ann Grover said...

Korea was my first year of marriage! Totally changed my life in an eye opening way. Still writing about it 24 years later!

Beth, YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE RED GLASS!

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