Destyni Williams came to realize her love for traveling after growing up hearing the many stories from her grandmother on her own traveling experiences.
Hearing her grandmother’s adventures in a variety of places, including New York and Mexico, Williams began to feel wanderlust to explore new places. Over time, she had friends who added in their stories from traveling, which sparked her interest further. Williams also loved seeing movies that featured a unique location setting and had an interesting background to them.
She grew up watching the “Cheetah Girls” movies, and has wanted to visit Barcelona ever since. She always has been interested in Brazil because of the “Fast and Furious” movies, New York because of “Glee” and Albuquerque because of “High School Musical.” To Williams, the history of the locations she visits is important, but the exploration of the unknown is a factor that she also considers.
At the age of 15, Williams already has been to two neighboring states of Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. Her parents don’t travel much, which Williams said has always left her feeling stuck. Her goal is to visit a variety of places and see the unknown.
Williams’ love of travel ties in with her love of journalism. She has always wanted to have a career that involved an abundance of traveling and writing. She knows her future will include getting out of her comfort zone, and out of Oklahoma.
“I feel like my dreams are too big for a small town,” Williams said. “Oklahoma doesn’t have a lot in my specific interests. Oklahoma isn’t good for hardcore journalists, while many other cities have more opportunities.”
Williams, a sophomore at Santa Fe High School in Edmond, has big plans for her future education. Originally, she was intent on heading to Columbia University in New York because of its excellent journalism program. Now, for family reasons, Williams is planning to attend the University of Oklahoma, and get a double major in journalism and creative writing.
Williams’ biggest dream is to one day become a New York Times best-selling author and have a major motion picture made out her book. Other things Williams would like to do include go to New York City on New Year’s Eve, visit a Prada store where it originated in Italy, see the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and take pictures inside of the Rain Room in London.
“I think that life is too short and this world is too big for me to be stuck in one place for the rest of my life,” Williams said. “There are too many experiences to be had.”
