Joseph "Joey" Peele, was 16 when he had his first international experience. As Joey describes, this experience changed the way he saw and connected to those around him and instilled in him a deep appreciation for travel and other cultures.

 Current Age: 33

 Age at the time of travel: 16
 
Where did you go?
A cruise to The Bahamas

 Why was this trip meaningful to you?
Growing up, my parents never took our family on a vacation together. My father became disabled when I was six years old. Over the next 10 years his condition worsened each year. When my father fell terminally ill, he told my mother that his only regret was that we never took a family vacation. My father passed in May 2000, just a couple of months after we uprooted him from his life-long home in Washington, NC to follow my mother's upward career move to better support our family. After my father's passing, she huddled my brother and I together, and decided that the first thing we would do as a family would be to take our first family vacation to honor my father. That November, we flew into Miami (my first flight ever!) to board our first Carnival cruise to The Bahamas. At the time, flying was perhaps my biggest fear, so in order to be with the family, I had to conquer my biggest fear. I know my father would have wanted me to be brave. He fought in Vietnam and is considered a war hero by his fellow soldiers, so to me, I had large expectations to fill. I know the Bahamas isn't a major international trip, but for me and my family, it was a huge turning point in our lives.
 
What impact do you feel this trip had on you?
This trip was full of so many firsts for me (flying, learning about a passport, family vacay, and many more). This trip also came right on the heels of moving to a new town and a new high school midway through my junior year, and losing my father 6 months later, then transferring to my 3rd high school for my senior year. My life was at a crossroads and life could have gone in any number of ways and I’m thankful that I had someone in my corner that knew there was a world so much bigger than myself outside of North Carolina as I was witnessing first-hand just how fragile, precious, and short, life really is.

What other trips have you taken?
Now, I can say that I have been on three trips to France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Canada three times, South Africa twice, Mexico, and The United Arab Emirates. As I have gotten older, I strongly feel that going outside of the major cities gives you a more authentic feel and a more palatable taste of a country's flavor than that of the inner cities.
 
What advice would you give to the person you were before you took this journey?
Dream your biggest. Be your greatest. 
I would also encourage myself to be present in every experience and opportunity. Being present can change your life, and it's incredibly simple. Learn it, practice it, be it.
 
What, if anything, would you change about your experience?
The thing I would change about my first few experiences would be to invent camera phones! I would have loved to save and cherish more of those memories from my first experiences. I am sure there are many a stories that have since faded from my memory that I desperately wish I could have back. Now I utilize my cell phone camera and dSLR camera to photo journal and video each journey to make sure I don't lose the lessons I've learned or the friends I've made along the way.


About Joey: 
Joey is a native son of North Carolina (Beaufort and Halifax Counties respectively). Joey holds a B.S. degree in Journalism & Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations from North Carolina A&T State University. Upon graduation, Joey worked at the NC General Assembly and with the US Senate before working the with the North Carolina Public Health Foundation as the Rockingham County Catalyst for Healthy Eating and Active Living. Joey's passions are giving public service, and world travel.