In both 2017 and 2018, I attended the Worlds Individual Debate and Public Speaking Championship (WIDPSC) known by most in the highschool parliamentary debate community simply as ‘worlds’. As a Freshman, I was the youngest debater in the history of the competition, and after I attended again in my sophomore year, I held the title as the first freshman and sophomore to ever attend the tournament. I faced off against roughly 200 competitors in both tournaments and was in the top 50 the first year and took 27th the second. I was also 16th in the persuasive division, which was only one place away from making it to out rounds (playoffs). However, the competition was the least meaningful aspect of the trips. Being able to connect with such amazing people, who happen to both be my peers and be incredibly intelligent and fun, from around the world was amazing. The friends I made span the globe and have become some of my favorite people in the world. Nothing compares to watching Australian football with members from the Chinese and British team for hours as we all futility attempted to parse the exact nature of the rules. Moments like that are what made Sydney 2017 and Cape Town 2018, some of the best weeks of my life.