Student Spectrums

I never liked traveling. I know most kids get excited when their parents say “we’re going on a trip” but not me. I would rather stay home, play video games, eat my favorite foods, and sleep in my own bed. What’s supposed to be “fun” really just feels like a lot of trouble. I mean I just don’t feel comfortable at all with new people, their foods, and their cultures. It just isn’t home. To make it even better, I’m forced to go to a city called Medina with my parents. It can’t get worse than this!

My name is Noah and I’m 13 years old. My parents love traveling more than anything. They always talk about “exploring the world” and “learning about new cultures.” But I don’t get it. Why would I want to leave everything I know just to go somewhere weird where I don’t understand anything? Every summer my parents plan a big trip and every time I complain about it, they always say the same thing “ you’ll thank us later” but I never did. Every place we went to just made me not like traveling more and more. Last year they made me go to two different countries. The food was deviating, people talked in languages I couldn’t understand, and everything just felt uncomfortable, i mean people just stared at me thinking I was an alien who came from Neptune. That’s why for most of the time when they go on their “fun trip”, I just stay at Uncle John’s house. It’s so much fun over there especially playing and hanging out with my cousin Zackary, it’s a blast!

One humid Friday afternoon, 45 minutes before sunset I was playing my favorite game Clash Royal on a red hammock in my backyard under the gray cool shade, When all of the sudden I heard the grass moving and the sound was louder and louder.

“Noah,” my mom said.

“Mom, I’m in the middle of playing my game, I can’t talk right now.”

My dad came and firmly took my phone out of my hands and said, “You better answer your mom when she is speaking to you!”

“Fine, what is it then,” I said.

“We are going on a trip this summer to a city called Medina.”

“What even is that?” I asked.

“Its a beautiful country with rich history,” my mom said.

“It will be an epic adventure,” my dad added.

“To me it sounds like a boring trip. Y’all can go and im just going to be at uncle’s house.”

“Well you don’t have a choice, you haven’t been on 4 trips with us, you are coming with us,” mom said.

“Also if you aren’t coming then no electronics for the rest of the summer,” my dad said.

The flight to Medina was super long. It was tight, babies were crying nonstop, and my ears hurted a lot. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t get comfortable. My parents watched movies and looked happy, while I just sat there thinking about how much I didn’t want to be there. When we finally landed, everything felt different right away. The air smelled different. The buildings looked different. Even the colors seemed brighter. I hated it.

“This place is funky,” I muttered.

My parents ignored me, like they always do when I grumble. Our hotel was decent, but still wasn’t home. The bed felt solid, and the room had decorations I didn’t comprehend. I deeply missed my cozy, normal room back home. So far I hated every part of this trip. The next day, my parents dragged me outside to explore the city. The streets were busy and full of people, and people kept on honking which really annoyed me. There were markets with all kinds of food and objects I had never seen before.

“Try this,” my mom said, handing me some kind of snack.

“No thanks,” I said. “It looks gross.”

“You should at least try it,” my dad said.

I crossed my arms and followed them around, annoyed. Everything was loud and confusing. People spoke a language I didn’t understand, and I felt like I didn’t belong there at all. But then something happened. I heard a voice speaking English. I looked behind me and a boy about my age was sitting on the ground. He had a notebook and a pencil, and he was very focused on whatever he was doing. I was curious myself so I went up to the English speaking boy.

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

He looked up at me and smiled. “Drawing,” he said in simple English. I was shocked that he could speak English at all.

“What are you drawing?” I asked.

He turned the notebook toward me. It was a picture of the street we were on, but it looked way cooler than in real life. The colors were brighter and popped out, and the buildings looked magical.

“Wow you are a talented artist,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said. “Whats your name?”

“My name is Noah.”

“ you know Noah in my language, arabic is Nuh?” “I’m Sami by the way.”

“Wow I never knew that, it’s pretty amazing.”

My parents stopped and noticed I was talking with Sami.

“Making a friend?” My mom asked with a smile.

I shrugged, but inside of me started to change, I felt a little different. I wasn’t as annoyed anymore. Sami stood up with a little groan and said “ Do you want to see something?”

I looked at my parents and they nodded.

“Okay,” I said.

Sami led us through a few small narrow streets. We were walking a steep road and walked up some stairs of a wide, wooden balcony. I was mesmerized from what I saw. It was a quiet spot with a view of the city from above. You could see all the rooftops and the sunset in the distance.

“Wow,” I said without asking.

The view and the city of Medina was actually beautiful.

“I come here a lot,” Sami said. “It helps me get away from all of the distractions and also helps think better when I’m drawing.”

I sat down next to him. For the first time in any trip I went, I felt calm.

“Do you like living here?” I asked.

“Of course, he said. Why wouldn’t I?”

I didn’t know what to say. I had been thinking the place was strange and uncomfortable, but to him it was home. That night I kept on thinking about what I said about this city before I met Sami. The next day, I asked my parents if we could go back to the same area. They looked surprised, but were happy. We found Sami again, and this time I brought a notebook too.

“I want to try drawing,” I said.

He smiled. “Okay, I can show you how.”

We sat together and he taught me how to look at things differently, he told me to really focus and look at every detail on what you are trying to draw. Look at the patterns, shapes, and sizes. He told me to see the unseen, look at what people don’t see, and I did. For the first time, I started to see Medina in a new way. It wasn’t just strange, it was interesting. Over the next few days, I spent even more time with Sami. He showed me his favorite places like a small cafe where my parents loved their Arabian coffee, and a park where kids played soccer. I even tried some of the local food that I didn’t want to when I came to Medina at first. At first I was skeptical but it actually tasted good. Some of it was even better than what I ate at home. More and more I started to realize that my parents were right and it was a shame of me for not listening to them at first.

“You’re changing Noah,” my dad said one evening.

“No im not,” I replied quickly

But I knew he was right. I wasn’t complaining anymore. I wasn’t counting the days until we left but counted the days from my previous trips that I hated. I felt like I was gaining something new every day.

One afternoon, Sami took me to a place called Masjid An-Nabawi. He showed me how Muslims prayed and greeted one another. It was a beautiful experience. I didn’t feel out of place anymore. I felt like I was part of something. That night before hopping to the bed that I over reacted from before and said it was solid, I realized something important. Traveling wasn’t just about going to different places other than home. It was about seeing things in a new way. Before I only focused on what was different and uncomfortable, all I saw, to me, was all negative. But now I was starting to see what was interesting and exciting. I saw no negatives and saw all absolute. When it was time to leave Medina, I was so sad. I wanted to stay and explore more and spend more time with Sami because what he taught me changed my mood and emotions on trips. On the flight home, I looked out the window and thought about everything that had happened.

I thought about how much I hated traveling before. How I refused to try new things. How I thought everything different was bad. Now I feel different. I still liked my home, of course. But I also realized that the world is much bigger than just my room. I’ve always been stuck in my room and never had the guts to explore what’s outside of it, and That’s all thanks to Sami for helping me with that.

When we got home, my mom asked, “So… did you like Medina?”

I smiled a little.

“Yeah,” I said. “I actually did.”

My parents looked at each other, surprised.

“Does this mean you won’t complain about our next trip?” my dad asked.

I thought about it.

“I might still complain a little,” I said. “But I’II give it a chance.”

And I meant it.

Because now I know that sometimes, the places you don’t want to go end up being the ones that change you the most. It’s good to learn about other cultures and how they do things. Of course it’s different and that’s what makes it fascinating. You also learn a thing or two about the place you visit. I regret not listening to my parents at the beginning, even though what they are saying wont make sense at first, will always make sense later, you just got to give it time. Now thankfully, I understand it all. The trips that I used to hate, are now pretty great.