How a Trip to Mexico Helped to Open Up My Mind
Traveling can be both fun and eye-opening
My mom stayed with a family in Mexico City for a summer during college in the 70s. The memories and lessons she took away from her time there stayed with her for the rest of her life. My siblings and I saw evidence of it daily from the Spanish words and songs she often spoke and sang. She spoke highly of her time there, and it always made me curious about visiting Mexico.
I have heard many things about Mexico throughout my life, from many sources — from friends and family to the news and politics, and it has all conflicted. I heard that Mexican people are some of the nicest and most hard-working people around, and I also heard that they were criminals and freeloaders. I heard from some sources that the country was beautiful and safe, while other sources said that it was dangerous and dirty.
I always knew better than to stereotype an entire country or group of people, but taking a trip to a country other than my own is what really opened up my eyes and my mind. It is one thing to hear and read about different countries and cultures, but it is a different thing entirely to see and experience them firsthand.
I was fortunate enough to take a family trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico when I was 15 years old. My family had taken…
