At 19 years old, she's traveled to 125 countries. She's 71 away from breaking a record

Lexie Alford recently returned home to Nevada City after visiting more than 20 countries in Asia.

The 19-year-old is well on her way to becoming the youngest person in the world to visit all 196 sovereign countries. The world record is held by English traveler James Asquith, who earned his name in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2013 at 24-years-old.

Alford has been traveling since she was a young girl. Her mother owns a travel agency in Grass Valley and has traveled to many foreign nations with her family.

After graduating high school early at 16 years old, she went on to obtain her Associates Degree from Sierra College by the time she was 18.

She said she wasn't sure what to do next, so she decided to take a gap year, and that’s when she was inspired to attempt the record.

30 countries x 3 months ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ & I made it home in one piece! During this trip I met the sweetest people in the world. I was never harassed, stolen from or harmed in anyway (except for absolutely vicious bug bites). Asia is definitely not the place for the weak stomached and it was challenging to find healthy food in the South Pacific. I spent more time alone than I have in my whole life. Somehow managed not to miss any of my 45 different flights. Made some financial mistakes, missed a few once in a lifetime opportunities. I grew in ways I didn’t know I needed to. I’m now 30% closer to breaking the world record (!!). So many lessons learned from these new experiences. So many hopes affirmed. FEELING EMPOWERED!

A post shared by L E X I E A L F O R D (@lost_lexie) on Mar 16, 2018 at 7:12pm PDT

“I know that the world is a changing place and it’s more open minded than ever towards women pursuing untraditional paths,” Alford said. “So, I’m doing something that hasn’t been done before.”

Aside from her love of traveling, she also has a motive.

“[I want to] show that everywhere in the world you can find kindness despite the political and societal instabilities” Alford said.

Alford says she has saved for her travels since she was 12-years-old. She's been working as a travel consultant full-time since she was 15-years-old, so she knows the ins and outs of traveling on a budget.

The world traveler has been to all of Europe, many of the countries in Asia, and all of South America. The remaining 71 countries she hopes to visit by the time she is 21 are in the Middle East and Africa.

The next leg of her trip will begin in May to the Caribbean. She hopes to break the world record by the time she turns 21-years-old.

Visit her site at LivingLost.com to watch her travels or connect by clicking here.