Now I want my 2nd passport stamp!

Hi, my name is Shannon Harrison. I am 14 years old and I am entering the 9th grade this fall. I currently have a 3.2 GPA. I live in Romulus, Michigan.

I got my very first passport in the spring and I was very excited to get it through The Passport Party Project. I entered a contest to win an all-expense paid trip to Belize by writing an essay about "What Global Citizenship means to me". I was lucky enough to win the trip and get my very first passport stamp! How cool is that to write an essay and win a FREE trip?!

My experience in Belize was un-belize-able and I participated in so many different activities. My two favorite activities were snorkeling and playing with the children at Liberty Children's Home, an orphanage for abused and neglected children. I was also able to raise a donation of $100 dollars to give to the orphanage.

After going to Belize, I became more excited about travel than ever before! Not only has travel inspired me to see more of the world, but I also want to learn about different cultures. Now I don't just want to have a careless vacation. Instead, I want to get out there and help people like I did in Belize.

Now I have the opportunity to go on my first independent travel abroad trip with a group of teen girls to Paris, France and with Miss Tracey. I think that going on the trip to Paris will be very life changing because seeing the City of Light and the Eiffel Tower in person will be a dream come true. Also, I would love to learn about the French ways of life. I could just look everything up about Paris on the Internet but looking it up and experiencing it in real life are two different things.

In Paris, there will be conversational French lessons every morning, a cool day of philanthropy, strolls along the famous Champs-Élysées, museum visits, a photo shoot in front of the Eiffel Tower & more! I'm very excited about all of this because I've always wanted to learn French. I even picked a French class for when I start high school this fall.

If I raise enough money, I will be able to get my 2nd passport stamp from Paris! Thank you for helping me with my goal.

-Love, Shannon