Christian Dirsa, a freshman at OHS, loves taking his bag and traveling. Ever since his family started taking him traveling to new places at a young age, he has continued to travel every year after that. 

“I’ve been to 15 states,” Dirsa said, “and I’ve been to Mexico.”

Ever since Dirsa first traveled to Colorado when he was a little boy, he has always found it as an escape away from everything, which has helped Dirsa develop many reasons for why he likes traveling. 

“I like traveling so I can get away from my family and school,” Dirsa said, “and because it’s fun.”

While Dirsa loves to travel for fun, he also loves to learn about the states. 

“It really depends on where I go. When I went to Washington, D.C., it was about learning history, but when I got to a beach place, it’s about the vacation…” Dirsa said. “The history of the U.S. is fun to learn now, especially what influenced the states to become what they are today.”

He also has many memories while traveling, and sometimes it’s the smallest moments that can have the biggest impact. This is the case for Dirsa, whose trip to Florida is one he fondly remembers.

“My most memorable experience is definitely weird, but it’s probably when I went through the Taco Bell drive-through and they said they were out of beef,” Dirsa said. “It was really sad, and now it’s been a family joke for years.”

With traveling, people often get to experience different events and sights that some have never seen before, but that isn’t the only benefit. 

“I’ve grown as a person by traveling because I’ve met so many new people,” Dirsa said.

Even with meeting new people and having new experiences, Dirsa doesn’t think he will continue traveling as much when he gets older, especially with the challenges that rising prices have created.

“This year was different because with the money getting higher, it’s harder to do more things with a budget,” Dirsa said. “I had to fly back by myself just because of the price of a plane ticket.”

With all the places he’s been and the lessons he’s learned along the way, though, he does have some advice for fellow travelers.  

“Don’t miss your flight.”