Trip to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida

One of the most memorable parts of my first spring break during grad school at the University of Maryland was visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I've always been fascinated by space, but seeing it all up close—the Apollo rocket, the Atlantis shuttle—was something else. These weren't just exhibits; they were milestones in human history. Just standing in front of them made me feel proud of how far we've come. It's one thing to read about space exploration, but seeing the scale of it in person puts everything into perspective.

The whole place felt like a giant playground of knowledge. There were so many simulations and exhibits that pulled you in—not just showing you what NASA has done, but making you think about what's possible. I also took a special tour that drove past the actual launch pads and the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is one of the largest single-storey building by volume in the world and it looked like it.

That visit wasn't just fun or educational, it was genuinely inspiring. It reminded me why I've always been curious about space, and left me thinking about what exploration really means, in every sense of the word.