I was a left behind child in China. Left behind child means the parents of the child leave home and work in another city. When I was seven, my parents entrusted me to my grandparents and worked in a faraway city. Until I came to study in the United States, I lived with my grandparents. My grandparents treated me very kindly and lovingly, but restricted by their ages, they could not accomplish every task that other parents need to. To be honest, I only received very simple life guidance from my grandparents, and I had to work hard by myself to achieve exceptional performance in my schoolwork and learned to clean my room, do dishes, wash clothes, and clean the house.
My independence and self-confidence grew, but I still longed to do more. Every time after the school starts after summer vacation, my classmates would always share their exciting traveling experience with others. But I always was the one who listened to their adventures and stories and never shared my summer experience because all I did in my summer was staying with my parents in an unfamiliar city. I really envied their experience because as a child, I was very curious about the world, and I hoped to gain insights and experiences. However, it was unreasonable to ask my aged grandparents for company on a tiring journey; my parents were too busy with their work to take a break and travel with me; I could not go far without guardianship because I was so young.
In April 2016, I left my Chinese high school and went to study English in Hangzhou alone in order to have enough time to apply high schools in the United States. It was my first time traveling by myself. I received a suitcase as my birthday gift that symbolized my ability to leave for a trip on my own. Filled with excitement and free of worries, I stepped out on my journey with the best expectations. After four months I spent in Hangzhou, I really enjoyed the time I spent alone. It lighted up my interest of traveling alone. After Hangzhou, I started to travel to many more cities in China alone. I enjoyed every second of my trip, and I would never forget the freedom and excitement that each city brought me.
Then it came to the idea of starting a traveling blog as my senior project. I was talking to one of my teachers, Mrs. Waddill, when she was driving me home. I still could not decide what to do as my senior project. She asked me what I had done and what I was interested. I shared many experiences, including traveling alone. Then she said “You can probably start a traveling journal recording all the places you have been to.” After I got home, the sentence kept repeating in my head. It is truly one of my biggest interest! Then my senior project, “My Gypsy Life” was born and I created this website to keep track all the places I have been to during my senior year.
My Gypsy Life 