I’ll admit it. I’m overly enthusiastic.

But nothing makes me smile more than the Greek gods. Some girls want to be serenaded by Justin Bieber — I’d rather spend my life under the sea with Poseidon. 

Growing up, one of my favorite book series was Percy Jackson & The Olympians. I desperately wanted to be as heroic as Percy, as brave as Annabeth and as loyal as Grover. Every day, I prayed my mom would come into my room and tell me my real father was actually a god (sorry, Dad). Being a demigod was my ultimate dream. I didn’t discriminate though — I wouldn’t have minded a life like demigods Heracles or Perseus, either.

So you can imagine my uncontainable excitement six years ago when my parents announced we were going to Greece. Although most of my family was more excited about the beach, I couldn’t wait to be in one of the world’s oldest cities, Athens. For a few weeks leading up to the trip, I studied all my favorite gods and goddesses, reading Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton cover to cover.

I couldn’t breathe standing under the mighty Acropolis, one of the most iconic sights of one of the greatest ancient civilizations. As I walked through the Parthenon, a former temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and fervently touched the pillars constructed in 447 B.C., I felt small. I was a preteen girl in the center of a city filled with centuries of history. 

Like a lot of people, I have a love/hate relationship with museums. Although I enjoy learning about different cultures and seeing artifacts from various periods, after three hours, my eyes begin to water and my feet begin to sting. In Athens though, I loved museums. As soon as we entered the National Archaeological Museum, I had to go into each and every exhibition room, read as many place cards as I could, and can neither confirm or deny taking a few illegal pictures with sculptures of my favorite heroes and gods (don’t be surprised if you see my face on the museum’s most wanted list).

During tours, my older brother and I would compete to answer the most questions the tour guide asked. We even had a rapid fire round where the guide listed about ten gods and we had to say what they represented. He won — but I swear he cheated.

I’ve never been in love, but Athens is the closest I’ve gotten. Even though my mom was on cloud nine because it was an “educational” trip, it didn’t feel like learning to me. To hear about the father of democracy as we stood in front of his marble bust, to listen to tales of the first Olympic games as we walked through the Panathenaic Stadium, and to hear about the king of gods himself as we walked through Zeus’ temple was like entering the Magic Tree House and ending up in 3,000 B.C.

Even though it’s been six years and we’ve traveled to various other places since then, this trip still remains one of my favorites. That was the trip I was able to immerse myself in Greek mythology and live my childhood dream. Even though I’m (unfortunately) not Greek, I still want to be a demigod.

Σ’αγαπώ, Ελλάδα.

I love you, Greece.