Shalini, commonly referred to as Shal, is a freshman at BU with an untamable sense of adventure. When asked to recall her significant life events, she reminisces about her travels to Africa, India, Italy, Ireland, and, perhaps her favorite destination thus far, Delaware, for the Firefly music festival.
Apart from her frequent travels to India to visit family, Shal began describing her adventures with a trip to Paraguay for Operation Smile. “I went when I was in high school, so I went with another high school student. Our job was to care for kids before and after they went into surgery to fix cleft lips and palates.” Providing an extra set of hands for the doctors, surgeons, and nurses was the main task she assisted with during the two-week trip.
Shal isn’t the only member of her family that loves to travel. “Last summer I went to a safari in Africa, Tanzania to be specific, for a big family reunion. All of my aunts, uncles, and cousins came so it was really fun.” The family’s safari trip included exploring the land and observing the wildlife. “We got very lucky. [Guides] tell you to not get your hopes up when you’re on a safari because it’s not like a zoo and the animals aren’t there just for us. But like I said, we got really lucky, and we saw a lot of lions which is what everyone wants to see. And we also got to see a lion kill an antelope which was really, really sad but also really cool.”
However, her destinations aren’t always international. During her senior year of high school, Shal and her friends embarked on a trip to Delaware for the renowned Firefly music festival. “I live in New Jersey, so we drove down to the festival. It wasn’t that long of a road trip, but it was really fun. It should have taken an hour and a half to get there, but it actually took three hours because a lot of people come from the New Jersey area so there was a lot of traffic.” However, Shal said the time spent in the car with her friends was one of the many highlights of the trip.
“It was the highlight of my 2015. It was just so much fun, and I went with my best friends. It was a great way to end off high school. There was such good music; seeing my favorite artists live was amazing! It was a totally different environment for us; we had been in high school for the whole year and with that you kind of get stuck in a bubble. But a music festival is so cool because you’re disconnected form society. Especially Firefly, because we were camping. We were literally in the middle of the woods!” Shal and her friends had such an amazing time that they have already purchased their tickets to return to the festival this year.
Now that she’s in college, Shal doesn’t plan on ceasing her adventures. “I absolutely want to study abroad. One place that I really want to go to is Australia. Other than that, in the future I want to go to the Oriental countries — Thailand, China, that whole area. I just feel like those places are so unique.” While she is young, she wants to travel as much as she can. “Right after I graduate college, I don’t know what my plans are, but I definitely want to have a job that would allow me to travel. I think it’s one of the best things that you can do with your time. Even if I don’t have a job that involves traveling, I hope that I’ll have enough financial stability to support my travels because I also think it’s one of the best things that you can spend your money on.”
And as a seasoned traveller, Shal had some valuable advice for those who want to embark on adventures in the future. “Have a go-with-the-flow attitude. Most of the time when you’re going on a trip somewhere, especially if it’s somewhere you haven’t been before, things don’t go as planned, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. If you go in with the mindset ‘I’ll just take things as they come,’ you’ll have a much better time.” Thanks for the words of wisdom, Shal!