On a wonderfully clear day in New York City, New York, junior Amna Makic had plans to journey above the numerous skyscrapers and see a view talked about among avid tourists. This view was from the Hudson Yards building, renowned for its famous 100-story-high observation deck (appropriately called Skydeck), complete with a glass floor. When she walked onto the Skydeck, Amna was awed by the incredible view, solidifying her fondness for traveling.
“The building was crazy,” Amna said. “I think it was my favorite memory because just seeing the entire city from a sky view and capturing the moment was really incredible.”
Ever since she was a little girl in elementary school, Amna knew she wanted to travel as much as she could. She’s always had a love for seeing new places, and also trying the latest food trends around the country. Dessert cafes are a particular favorite of hers, as they are “very cute and fun,” as Amna said.
For as long as she can remember, Amna has been an enthusiastic foodie, constantly exploring new cities to try and find the best desserts and entrees available. The multiple possibilities for trying a dish at numerous restaurants and having it be something completely different excites Amna. For these reasons, food plays an important role in Amna’s love for travel, letting her expand her horizons and her cultural experiences.
“Whenever I order [food] from different places, it’s always different, and some are better than others,” Amna said. “When it comes to desserts, I love trying bakeries in different cities that we don’t have in Michigan. I love Magnolia Bakery [in New York]. I tried their banana pudding, and it was very good.”
As of now, Amna has been to Germany and many other states in the US. One day in the future, she would be delighted to travel to more countries in Europe, especially Italy and Greece, for their crystal-clear water and picturesque landscapes. Currently, her favorite places to visit are New York and California, as they both are very populous states but have many differences in climate and general air.
“For New York, I love the city, and I just love the busyness of it all,” Amna said. “I don’t know why people don’t like the busyness and the sirens. I think it just makes the city…like the city. In California, I really like the warm weather and the palm trees too. It was very chill and just calm overall.”
Even though Amna would love to travel as much as she possibly can, she can only travel about once a year, especially with the near-daily pressure of schoolwork for nine months. However, she does journey frequently around Michigan, occasionally making weekend trips throughout the state. This past summer, she recently visited Leland up north, a small fishing town and also a favorable summer destination among Michiganders. Despite the fact that it was very small, especially compared to New York City, Amna liked it very much, as it had a nice charm to it.
In addition to food, summer also impacts Amna’s decision on where to travel. Summer is her favorite season by far as she has more freedom to roam and make her own choices rather than the other seasons during the school year. Amna has enjoyed summer ever since she was a kid, and she also loves that she can travel more often. In the winter months, it’s much harder to complete road trips, which is Amna’s favorite type of vacation.
“I just love the thought of there being no schoolwork or stress,” Amna said. “It’s like having a carefree time period. It has a lot of things to do with traveling because the weather’s nice, so you can travel more than in the winter when it’s snowing, and it’s harder to do road trips.”
Amna appreciates the many memories she makes solely through traveling. Along with the memory of standing on the Skydeck in New York City, another one of her most memorable times on vacation was when she visited In-N-Out for the first time in California this past May. Almost everyone who was on the same arrival flight as she showed up at the same In-N-Out location around the same time. She believes everyone was hungry from the exhausting flight.
Amna encourages everyone to take up the hobby of travel, even if it’s just around the city. She believes traveling can benefit people by giving them more experience outside of their hometown.
“Traveling can benefit you with a lot of experience,” Amna said. “You can receive objects and experience a lot of things from traveling regularly.”
