The Trip That Changed My Life

By: Sadie | See with Sadie

How studying abroad at 19 changed the way I see travel, life, and the world

I was 19 years old the first time I left the country. I was a first-generation college student. I was broke. I had never been to Europe, and I had never really thought of myself as someone who traveled. Then I was given the opportunity to study abroad in London. And looking back, I don't think I fully understood just how much that trip was going to change me.

The Opportunity I Never Thought I'd Have

As a first-generation college student, studying abroad wasn't something I grew up assuming I would do. International travel felt like something other people did. People who had the money for it. People whose families traveled. People who already knew how to navigate the world.

I didn't have any of that.

I was 19, in college, and definitely not in a position where I could casually pay for a summer in Europe.

Then I found the Explore First Program through the University of Kentucky. The program was created to give first-generation students an opportunity to study abroad and experience the world... something that many of us may not have otherwise had the opportunity to do.

I still remember how surreal it felt knowing that I was actually going. I had never left the country before, Now I was going to live in London. I packed my suitcase, got on a plane, and flew across the Atlantic with a group of people I had never met. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into....

My First Time Seeing the World

There are some moments you remember exactly how they felt. For me, that's London. The double-decker buses, the red telephone booths, architecture, the tube, Big Ben, Westminster, and my first tea time.

All of these things were beautiful, but what stayed with me wasn't just what London looked like.

It was the feeling of being somewhere completely different.

For the first time in my life, I was experiencing a place that wasn't home. And eventually, something clicked. I realized that the world wasn't just the place I lived.

There was an entire world outside of everything I had ever known.

Different cultures. Different languages. Different traditions. Different ways of living. Different people with completely different stories.

I had always known the world was big. But London was the first time I actually felt how big it was. And once I realized that, I wanted to see all of it.

15 Strangers

I went to London with 15 strangers. And I came home with 15 friends. We didn't know each other when we arrived. But we were all experiencing something new together. We explored, laughed, got lost, learned, and made memories together that i still think about to this day.

There's something about traveling with people that creates a connection really quickly. You're all outside of your normal lives. You're experiencing new things. You're figuring things out together.

And somewhere along the way, the people who started as strangers become the people you can't imagine the trip without.

That experience is a huge part of why I want to create group trips for solo travelers. Because I know what it's like to show up somewhere not knowing anyone. And I know how incredible it can be when you leave with friendships you never expected to make.

You don't necessarily need to have a group of friends who are ready to travel with you. Sometimes you just need to be willing to go.

The Trip That Changed My Perspective

I came home from London with pictures, souvenirs, memories, and friendships. But I also came home with something I didn't expect: A completely different perspective on my life.

Before that summer, I think I saw travel as something you did every once in a while. A vacation, A break from real life, Something you saved for...

After London, I started seeing it differently. Travel wasn't just a vacation to me anymore. It was a way to learn, grow, understand, and experience life how different people experience it.

Most importantly, it made me realize just how much I hadn't seen yet.

There were so many places I had never been. So many cities I had never heard of. So many cultures I knew almost nothing about. So many people I would never meet if I stayed inside the little world I already knew. And I wanted more.

Not because my life at home wasn't good. But because I realized there was so much more life to experience.

I Don't Want to Work to Live

I think London was also the first time I really started thinking about what I wanted my future to look like. I was 19. I obviously didn't have my entire life figured out.

But I started questioning the idea that we're supposed to spend our entire lives working, waiting for weekends, waiting for vacations, and eventually hoping we'll have enough time to enjoy life.

I don't want that.

I don't want to work to live. I want to live to see the world.

I want a life where travel isn't something I have to constantly put off until "someday."

I want to wake up curious, experience different places and cultures, meet people from all over the world, keep putting myself outside of my comfort zone, collect experiences instead of waiting for the perfect time to start living them, and I want to build a career that allows me to do that.

Why I Want to Share the World

But there's something else I've realized since that trip. I don't just want to see the world for myself.

I want to share it with other people.

The reason this matters so much to me is because I know what it feels like to have someone open that door for you. At 19, I was given an opportunity that I may not have been able to create for myself.

Someone made it possible for me to experience the world for the first time. And it changed me.

I want to be able to give other people that same feeling. Maybe you're someone who has never left the country, someone that has always wanted to travel but doesn't have anyone to go with, maybe you're nervous about traveling alone, maybe you don't know where to start, maybe you just need someone to tell you, "You should go."

I want to be that person.

Because I truly believe that travel can change you.

Not because every trip is going to be perfect. Or because you have to travel to some faraway, exotic destination. But because stepping outside of what you know forces you to see things differently. You learn about the world, and somehow, you learn a little more about yourself, too.

Why Solo Travel Matters to Me

This is also why group travel has become such an important part of what I want to create. I know that there are so many people who want to travel but don't have someone to go with. And I don't think that should mean you don't get to go.

My experience in London showed me that sometimes the people you travel with don't have to be people you've known your entire life. Sometimes they're strangers. Sometimes they're strangers who become friends. Sometimes those people end up becoming one of the best parts of the trip.

That's the feeling I want to recreate.

The Beginning of See With Sadie

When I look at what I'm building now, I can trace so much of it back to that summer.

The travel.

The curiosity.

The desire to experience more.

The friendships.

The realization that the world is so much bigger than I thought.

And especially the desire to help other people experience it, too.

See With Sadie exists because of that feeling.

The Trip That Started It All

I went to London at 19 with a suitcase, a grant, and 15 strangers. I came home with 15 friends, a passport that I couldn't wait to fill, and a completely different idea of what I wanted my life to look like. I thought I was going to London to study abroad. I didn't realize I was going to discover a part of myself. The part of me that wants to explore, keep learning, meet people from everywhere, the part of me that doesn't want to spend my life waiting for someday, and the part of me that wants to bring other people along for the journey.

London wasn't just the trip that changed my life. It was the trip that started it. The world is so much bigger than you think it is. And there is so much of it waiting for you.