Last summer, my family and I made a trip to Europe. It took one month, and I saw seven different countries. Before we could start the trip by car, there were many formalities. Turkish citizens will know about which formalities I am talking about - the non-Turks will know when they read on!

First, we went to Greece, then to Venice, Italy, by ship. We continued with Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, and Spain, respectively. I hadn't seen these countries before - with exception of Germany and Greece; and so it was fun to discover  new places. I have always wanted to travel around the world, and this trip was the beginning of it. I am 16 now, and I am determined that I will travel much more, and see the world.

Some people might say, "Why on earth should I go on holidays and spend money, if I can stay at my sweet home and relax?" And others, now it is getting interesting for the non-Turks, may think: How can you afford that much time and money only to stay a few weeks abroad? Turkish people are required to have a visa when they want to visit a country. Without a passport you don't get a visa - and without guarantees like bankbooks and land registers, you won't get that visa. If you think that this is all you need, you are wrong: You need to buy a health-insurance - no insurance, no visa! All in all, my father said, we had to pay about 200 Euros each before even taking one single step out of Turkey. And I am not mentioning all the problems we had!

Now back to the people who would not understand all that trouble only to see some foreign countries. When we were planning our trip to Europe, I was one of them. I was thinking  "OK, maybe we will see nice new places, but we will spend a lot of money." So how has my opinion changed?

There' s always a difference between "before" and "after". And if you want to judge over some certain issue, you must consider this. If you haven't ever traveled abroad, and if you haven't ever seen lots of places, you can't really know how it feels to travel. Traveling around the world makes you a different person, and it also makes you happy. And honestly, you won't remember the money you have spent, and the trouble you had - but I do remember the places I go, I can share my memories with my friends, and I am even using them in my English class.

Seeing so many places, and meeting new cultures and people was a fantastic experience in my life. I only recommend to everyone to go on a trip like I did last summer. It's really a great experience. Seeing the world will make you happy as it made me happy. If you still don't believe me, you should just try and see.