Events don’t always go, as they seem. What seems like a good idea at first can take a quick turn of events. An exited girl prepares for her trip around the world. But this trip isn’t like any other; this young girl is traveling alone. She leaves her family behind and heads for a month-long trip all the way to Switzerland. She is excited because, after all, who wouldn’t be? She was finally getting a taste of freedom. But it is all going to change. She encounters a problem that she has to overcome, before the problem overtakes her. But will she be able to with her family in the other side of the world?

Missing Home
Discovering this summer camp was definitely a moment in my life that I won’t forget. I was at a friend’s house, browsing through schools in Switzerland, when I came across Le Chatelard. From the images in the website, I could see the wooden structure over green lawns in the Swiss Alps. The setting was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. I got home, and ran straight to my parent’s room. My eyes sparkled with anticipation, and right away my parents knew I had something to tell them.
It seemed like a wonderful idea. At first, anyway. But an idea can seem good at first, without actually knowing the consequences. A month without seeing your parents is one thing, but a month without seeing your parents while being on the other side of the planet is another.
An incredibly long but fun day of academic classes and afternoon sports classes passed, and I was about ready to pass out. My head felt like it was about to explode. I had already taken a shower, and our hour of internet was over.
In my pyjamas and with my slippers on my cold feet, I hugged my pillow tightly with my phone in my other hand. I had just finished talking to my family, who were in San Antonio. Apart from the typical ‘I miss you’s,’ there was also some news that I didn't like. My mom just found out that she may have another kidney stone and that really worried me. There was a 7 hour difference between the two places, and I really missed my parents and my little brother.
I hugged my pillow even tighter, if that was even possible, it still smelled like the laundry detergent they used in my house. For the first time all day, I really missed them. I rarely get homesick when I go to summer camps, and the day has been way to busy with classes for me to even think about home. But there was an aching in my chest that was due to the fact that I was just realized my family was across the globe.
“We have to start heading to the gym for our activity.” Dany came in the room with a hairbrush in her hand and her phone in the other. She probably just finished talking with her family as well. Her parents were in Barcelona, which was just a few hours away from where the school was, so she saw them only yesterday because they came to the school to drop her off. But I hadn’t seen my parents in a few days, and the sadness was slowly creeping up on me. Dany was a tiny girl, she was one year younger than me. Her usually wavy hair was damp because she had just taken a shower. Her brown eyes were shining, even though they looked a little tired from the hard day of activity. She had on pink pajamas, and fuzzy blue socks. She was a true little kid at heart.
“I don’t feel well. My head is throbbing.”
“Do you want me to call Maria?” Dany asked me with a concerned look on her face. She left her hairbrush on the desk and sat on her bed, which was next to mine. My head was throbbing. It felt like all the blood from my body was quickly rushing to my head.
“No, it’s probably nothing. I shouldn't worry her.”
“You should worry her. That’s what counselors are for anyways.” She joked, trying to lighten the mood that I had killed with my gloominess. But I really wasn’t having it. I wasn’t even able to concentrate because of this killer headache.
Sofía entered the room in her cheery ways, she had a boyfriend back home, and she absolutely adored him. It wouldn't even surprise me if she had skipped talking to her family to talk to him. She had long dark hair that was always straight and about halfway down her back. She was my age, but she looked a lot older. She was about a head taller than me, and of a really athletic build. She had the biggest and the darkest eyes I have ever seen.
“What’s wrong?” She questioned me with concern. She sat on my bed, and I gave a long sigh.
“It’s nothing really. I just miss my family that’s all.”
“Awww.” They moved closer to me on the bed and they both gave me a hug. I knew I was probably being a burden to them, but they really seemed like they cared about me.
“I’m going to get Maria, it’s not a question.” Sofía said as I was about to interrupt her. But I let it go.
A couple of minutes later, Maria entered the room. Her wavy hair in a headband and her typical smile on her face. But that smile disappeared as soon as she saw my current state.
“Lore, what’s wrong?” She came up to the bed and gave me a hug.
“It’s nothing, really. I’m fine.” Those words left my mouth, but with each word I said, my head throbbed a little more. As a reaction, my hand left the phone on the bed and immediately went to my temple.
“Your head. It hurts.” Maria told me, and I gave a weak smile. Because, after all, my head did hurt.
“I guess it does. but it has never hurt like this before.” I felt my heart beating in my head. Each thump was like a hammer to my brain.
“Dany and Sofía, head downstairs to the gymnasium where they’re holding the activity. Lore, you head over to the nurse’s office. It’s in the first floor, right beside your french classroom and in front of the elevator. I’ll go with you if you want.”
“No, that’s okay. I can go alone.” I stood up from the bed and before Maria could say anything else, I darted towards the door, ignoring the killer headache that fast movement brought upon my head.
The long corridor was empty. It was adorned with persian rugs and it had high ceilings since we were at the top floor. Doors with numbers stood like a single file line, and the walls were painted a light pink. Through the windows that adorned the corridor it I could see the sun setting in the mountains. It was easily one of the most beautiful scene that I have and will ever see. The sun setting painted the sky a tangerine color, and it left beautiful tones of pink behind. The tip of the mountains had turned a shade of orange because of the rays, and the sun slowly set between two mountains. Wonderful tones of green trees covered the mountains, and I could hear the distant sound of cowbells ringing. This only made me miss my family more, because it was a shame that they weren’t here to see this magnificent view.
I latched open the window, and the cool air instantly hit my face. The air up here was always fresh and cool, and it felt amazing against my face. Because of my wet hair, the air felt colder than it actually was, so I closed the window, not wanting to get sick.
I decided to take the elevator down instead of the spiral staircase. It was nothing fancy, just a silver box. Pressing the white button with a number one on it, I prepared to go down. It only took about three seconds for the elevator to go from the fifth floor to the first one.
The nurse's office wasn’t hard to find at all.
I knocked on the door and found an elderly lady with her hair as white as snow in wisps on the top of her head. She was sipping tea and her wrinkled and frail hand was holding a book in french. She looked up from her book and gave me a smile.
“Do you have anything for my head? It really hurts.”
“Yes, dear. Where is it hurting?”
“Umm.. all over, I guess. It hurts really bad, it has never hurt like this before.”
“And how badly does it hurt?” She came over to me and put her cold hand on my forehead. “Have you ever had a migraine?” she asked me with a voice like honey.
“No, never. But my dad has them sometimes.”
“Dear, it’s probably a migraine. On a scale from one to ten, how badly does it hurt?”
“Eleven.” I said, trying to lighten the mood. I tried to smile, but it hurt, so it came out more like a grimace.
“Yes, it’s a migraine. I’ll give you some medicine and you need to go lay down. Also, have some crackers. Eating helps.” She handed me a blue pill and a packet of crackers.
“Do you have any idea why I have a migraine?” I was a little worried, because I didn’t know if this migraine was going to start a chain of many more.
“You probably just miss your family a lot. Have you been missing them?”
“Yes, I have. A lot actually.”
“That’s probably it. Go lay down and sleep. Don’t go to the activity. You’ll feel much better in the morning.”
This event in my life made me realize that because I was missing my family so much, I got physically sick. It made me think about how I shouldn’t worry about things so much, and just enjoy life for the moment. Because If I spent my whole life worrying, I won’t be able to enjoy them as much. For example, being in Switzerland. I should have been enjoying my trip instead of worrying so much about what was going on at home. Luckily, after that day I was able to enjoy my trip. I learned to enjoy life for the moment, and to stop worrying so much.