Traveling is a great way to meet new people and to learn about other people’s cultures. But the first time I visited China, I learned something even more valuable: the importance of gratitude. The first time I went was in 2018. I was only 8 years old. My family and I went to visit our grandparents. When we landed from our 21-hour flight, we noted how big the airport in Qingdao was and how luxurious it looked compared to the Boston Logan Airport we were used to seeing. My grandparents picked us up and brought us to their small neighborhood, full of duplicate apartment buildings. The next day, my family and I drove to the rural regions of Shandong, China. That was when it hit me hard. The town was small, full of small, low buildings covered in dust and roofed by sheet metal. Around us were acres of dusty farmland, and in the middle, the small town with the house we were visiting. The houses did not have air conditioning or heating. People slept on stiff beds with heated blankets to keep warm. I instantly began to yearn for the comfort of my home back in the States, a house equipped with central air conditioning and heating located in a nice town. But just as I was going to wash my hands in the small rural house, I realized something: my parents grew up in this area, going from this rural, small home to a suburban, bigger home in the United States. My Parents provided my siblings and me an opportunity to experience things that were more fun and less arduous than what they used to endure. I instantly felt grateful; grateful for my parents, grateful for my grandparents for providing for me, and grateful for the happy family I was lucky to be a part of. When I finished washing my hands, I made sure to enjoy the delicious food my grandparents had cooked up and to thank them for their caring efforts. This experience in China made me shape my values to become more grateful for everything that I have, and to complain less as complaining will not change anything but make the people around you feel miserable. I also created new standards for myself in terms of goals and relationships. I had new goals that would push myself to work even harder to make sure my children will have the same opportunities to thrive in as my parents had with me and my siblings. My new standards in terms of relationships were that for any new friend I make, they must be a good person; always thankful and grateful for the efforts that you put in for them. If it weren’t for traveling, it would have taken much longer for me to create these standards, and I may not have been the same person I am today.