Once in a while, people will ask you those annoying questions that you can never answer just off the top of your head. For example, I don’t know how many times someone has asked me what I want to be when I grow up. I never know how to reply, and it just drives me crazy. Another question kind of like this is “If there was one thing you could change in the world, what would it be?” When I tried to answer this question, I didn’t even know where to begin. There are so many possibilities, but it didn’t take me long to dramatically slap my forehead and say, “Duh.”
    Poverty is the number one issue in the world that I would obliterate. About 8 million people die every year from living in poverty—that’s almost 22,000 every day. What causes their deaths is just something that isn’t considered. We take advantage of what we have and use every day and couldn’t imagine living without. Well, truth is, many people don’t have enough money to lead a healthy lifestyle. They don’t have nutritious food, medicine, clean water, an education, or even a safe environment to dwell in. Some don’t have the opportunity to work a well-paying job, or a job at all.
    Everyone deserves a chance at a happy, healthy life, and I wish everyone could receive it. A lot of people have many belongings they don’t need. Now, I’m not saying I’m not one of these people, but instead of buying too much that we don’t need, we could be helping others with that money that aren’t as lucky as us.
     My family sponsors a girl named Clarissa who lives in the Philippines. Every month, we send about $30.00 for her cause to help her buy what she needs. I also write letters to her, which take about three months to get there but still delight her nonetheless. She, of course, writes back and tells me what it’s like to live in the Philippines and even sometimes, translates some phrases into her own language. One time, she told me that she bought a pair of slippers and toothpaste with about five U.S. dollars. I was surprised that prices are that low in other nations.
    There are numerous ways to change the world, and I don’t think I could even count them all. A few obvious topics that need to be improved pop into my head right away, though: world peace, recycling, and love for one another. Even though those are also essential, poverty would have to be my number one change in the world.

    Travelling is a very big and important part of my life. It’s also one of my favorite activities to do. Stepping off that airplane and feeling the new air on my skin, whether it be warm or cold, is a wonder. Something about it just captures my attention. All of the new sights, sounds, and smells—I like a change once in a while. That’s not even the best part. Whenever my family and I travel, we go to see relatives. Well, I guess that’s another change too, because I’m not stuck with just my family all of the time (no offense mom and dad.)  
    Most of the time, we travel by airplane because it’s the quickest way to get to our destination. This can be very thrilling sometimes, but at other times, annoying. There could be a crying baby, an old man snoring, or just some complete weirdo that’s sitting next to me. I usually get one of these every time I travel, but there was one time where that wasn’t the case at all.
    My mom and I were travelling back to Alaska from Minnesota. Or, at least we were planning on it until we found out our flight was delayed and would instead take place the next morning. The air was too smoky in Fairbanks for the plane to make a safe landing.
    We were going to have to spend the night in the Minneapolis airport. I was half bummed, half excited at first. For starters, I would have to sleep on the floor or on the benches, and I didn’t have my bag because it had gone on to Fairbanks without us. I was also excited at the same time because I had never before spent so long in an airport, let alone spent the night. I also thought it’d be cool to say that I’d stayed the whole night in an airport (now, remember, I was only ten at the time.) What I didn’t know was that I’d have a greater story to tell.
    First, my mom and I went to a special sitting area to get some peace and quiet (if that’s possible in an airport.) A few other ladies were already there, gossiping and going on about whatever middle-aged women went on about those days. They were actually kind of entertaining to listen to while we sat there.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something small and dark dart under my mom’s chair. I thought it was just me imagining things, but a moment later, I caught another glimpse of it. I recognized what it was that time: a mouse.
     I told my mom, and she saw it too, and as it kept making appearances, so did the other women. I sure could tell when they noticed it, because they started screaming and hollering to each other. They stood on the furniture, as if to put as much distance between themselves and that little mouse. We all decided to go somewhere else: to the benches at a gate. Yes, we had thought that we were getting away from the mouse, but soon found out that the building was infested with them. No matter where we went, there was always a mouse waiting for us.
    And so, we decided to get those cheap sleeping mats and blankets that airports lend you and sleep on the floor with them. I really didn’t want to--almost refused to--but all of the benches were filled.
    I hadn’t slept too badly after all, but I can only imagine what went on while I was asleep. I hope a mouse hadn’t crawled on me or even come close.
     What made me even angrier, though, was that when I had awakened, I found my mom sleeping on a nearby bench. She had left me on the floor, while she got the spot away from the mice. How very nice of her.
    That night was not the best, but it’s also not something you hear every day.  All of the ups and downs of travelling are unique and make every trip interesting. Every one: another story to tell.