“I’ve been in 28 different countries,” said Felix Holdorf (12). Holdorf, who lived in England with his family until the age of four, has traveled the globe with his family his entire life. “I think my first out of country trip was when I was just a couple weeks old to France.” After four years of living in England, Holdorf and his family moved across the Atlantic Ocean to America and lived in New York until the summer of 2008 when the Holdorf family moved to Michigan. Once here, Holdorf attended Portage West middle school. Even after moving to the United States of America, and every year in between, the Holdorf family continued to travel and see the world. “My favorite trip was probably the Norwegian one, because it’s probably the most beautiful country in the world.”

Along with his love for traveling with his family, Holdorf also has another hobby. He also enjoys snowboarding. Not only on local slopes such as Timber Ridge and Bittersweet, but mountains and slopes all around the world. His favorite place to snowboard is in the mountains of Switzerland. “It was the best snowboarding I’ve ever done,” he said. Of course, with these great adventures comes great danger. “I always seem to hurt myself so we’re always in odd foreign hospitals”

During his travels, Felix has experienced many events that make for some very great and interesting stories. Stories and experiences that most will never have the opportunity to encounter. “One of my favorite stories is the one where I was in Africa, getting ready to board the flight to head back home, and an African lady gave me her baby with all its papers. For a while, nobody I was with realized, until I said something about it.”

In his travels, Holdorf has met many interesting people from all around the world. Many of those encounters being a one in a lifetime experience. “I hung out with Harry Styles one time in Norway because my best friends dad works with the Norwegian – American embassy stuff, and in return my best friends younger sister got to meet him while i was there. Hes kind of short.”

Even at such a young age, Holdorf, with the help of his parents, seems to have found what is truly important in life. “ I travel a lot because that’s what my family likes to do. We don’t really spend our money on televisions or new cars or things like that. I think travel is the best way to experience life.”

  A word of advice from Felix: “You need to go out and make memories, make yourself uncomfortable, and learn something new. Discover something amazing. Travel is without a doubt the best way to do that, and not like really touristy travel, out there travel. The travel you can’t just plan… If you can, just use the extra money you have to get out there and discover what life is all about. Making friends, eating good food, and gaining life changing experiences. That’s why I travel.”