While most teens spend their formative years tackling daunting tasks like getting their driver's license, Arjun Malaviya was planning a self-funded trip across the entire world . On his 17th birthday, he began a 13-month journey that would take him to 92 countries — all by himself.

Having graduated high school at 16, and with two years of community college already under his belt, the California teenager wanted to take a gap year before starting higher education. As a student during the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaviya felt he missed out on opportunities to learn about different cultures. Inspired by trips he'd taken with his family when they were younger, he set off to do it on his own.

"Since I was little, we would go on one or two family trips a year," Malaviya tells PEOPLE. "Just getting

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