This 7-Year-Old Traveled the World for a Year. Here's What She Learned Along the Way.

Our Sneakz Kids Ambassador program is all about featuring kids who are pursuing the thing they are passionate about, living a healthy and active lifestyle, and defining what “success” means to them along the way.

Marlowe Duclos embodies what it means to be a Sneakz Kid. She recently got back from a trip around the world with her mom Drea and dad Alex, and she is now back in her hometown in West Palm Beach, FL.

We asked Marlowe to tell us about her trip, what it’s like to be homeschooled, who she admires, and what she’d change if she were the President of the United States. Here’s what she shared with us:

Where did you go on your travels with your family this past year?

I went to Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, France, Nepal, Guatemala, Mexico, and Colombia.

I was able to see snow for the first time in Massachusetts and I liked it a lot. One time, it went up to my waist, so I had to try and get through it. What I liked about the winter was being able to have snowball fights. My favorite place we visited was France because I liked going to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum, as well as seeing my friend Charlie. I also loved eating the bread in Paris. I want to travel to South Africa because there are penguins there and I really want to see them.

What is a normal day of homeschooling like for you?

A normal day of homeschooling is when I wake up and do a little bit of writing, math, and spelling work. After that, we usually have a snack. Sometimes we’ll go visit my cousins and sometimes we’ll go to the beach. When we were traveling, sometimes I’d do my homeschooling at night and then watch something or have dinner. Other times, I do my work in the morning and when I’m done, my family goes to the beach or the pool.


As a vegan, what does food mean to you?

If you’re homeless, food to them would be that they weren’t hungry. Food is meant to help you be healthy. My momma told me that eating good food makes you a happy person. People that are sad and grumpy all the time, probably don’t eat very good foods. I think healthy food helps me be energetic.


What are some of your favorite things to eat?

I love fruits. Some of my favorites are granadilla, rambutan, and mango.


What do you love eating for lunch?

I love eating rice and beans. I also like pasta. When we have pasta, we’ll add carrots, onions, and tomatoes in a sauce.

Who do you admire?

I admire my momma because I get to annoy daddy with her. She also helps me color sometimes when she’s not busy. I like watching my dad cook and I also like when he plays legos with me.

I also admire Frida Kahlo because I love painting and love the artwork she’s painted. I like Michelle Obama, too, because she got to help the president. I also liked Obama when he was president. I think I like him a little better than the current president—I don’t know completely why.


What would you do differently if you were the President of the United States?

I’d change how polluted the world is and I’d want to have fewer animals in an aquarium because otherwise they just sit in a tank when they really belong in the ocean.


If you had to pick something to be when you grew up, what would you pick and why?

I have three things I’d want to be: a veterinarian, a fashion designer, and a cook.

I want to be a veterinarian because I really like animals, especially cats and dogs. I also like to help the animals; one time when I was at camp, we pretended to be veterinarians and got to wear what they wear. They had these stuffed animals and we pretended that they ate plastic. We had to pretend to make them better by taking the plastic out.

I want to be a fashion designer because I like making clothes a lot. I’ve made skirts, dresses, tops. I have one skirt I made that’s really long and has flowers on it. 

I want to be a cook because I like cooking and want to be on Master Chef Junior. I also like watching daddy cook and sometimes I ask to help.


What do you think it means to live a happy life?

I want to minimize, which means not having that much stuff. I think minimizing is important because if you are a kid and keep on growing, you’re going to have to get rid of the clothes, but you don’t know where they are going to go. Most clothes get thrown out into garbage areas, which is really bad to the earth. But you can also donate it to Goodwill, which helps other people. If I ever became rich, I’d give all of the money to the homeless people. I feel bad that they don’t have homes, so I’d want to give it to them so they could also live a happy life.


What advice would you give to adults on how to live a happy life?

If they are rich, I would tell them to give away most of their money to the homeless. If they aren’t rich, I’d tell them to buy less stuff—especially clothes.


What is your wish for the world?

My wish for the world would be to make everyone more happy by people not eating too many animals or cutting down trees in the forest. I’d also want to get rid of all the plastics in the ocean.


What would you want to tell your older self?

I hope my older self remembers to always be strong, kind, and healthy.