In my opinion, there is no real reason needed to travel. It should be a part of everyone’s life, whether it is once a year, or once every ten. Travel is never a decision you’ll regret.
If you do feel like you may need some pushing along, I’ve written a list just for you! Here are some of the best reasons to travel:
The Planning
There is no other feeling like the excitement you feel when you are gathering all of your ideas for your next adventure. First you see the possibilities of what you can do (lying on the beach, touch monkeys, surf), and then you arrive and realize there is even MORE that you can do (snorkeling, touching sea turtles and seeing shipwrecks)!? These are the non-stop joys of going unfamiliar places.
The Learning
The things you take away don’t have to be expensive souvenirs. They can be memories, life lessons, and even just information. If you go to Barcelona, you naturally come away knowing more about Antoni Gaudi. In Rome you will soak up the lifestyle of the ancient civilizations. In Canada, you will…learn what a beaver looks like, and if you’re lucky, what a Beavertail tastes like.*
Being Comfortable Somewhere Far Away
Do you know the metro system in Paris like the back of your hand? Can you walk around Edinburgh without a map? Are you the coolest cat this side of ANYWHERE?! YES! Because you have traveled and depended on your own wit and innate sense of direction to guide you around the world and back again. It is one of the coolest feelings in the world to be comfortable in a place you don’t actually live (or don’t live anymore). You may not think it is so cool, because you messed up a million and two times while getting to know that place, but the fact that you can navigate yourself around a Caribbean island with confidence is simply impressive. Impressive I tell you! And if that doesn’t get you a date, I don’t know what will.
Seeing Things You’ve Only Heard About/Googled
Obviously, seeing something in real life instead of in pictures is a whole different experience. One is on paper or a screen, and the other is…well, it is there. But what is so great about the real thing? Maybe it is smaller (Mona Lisa) or bigger (Arc de Triomphe), perhaps more interesting (Sydney Opera House Tour) or less (…museums) than you had once thought. What seeing things up close gives you is not only a true memory and appreciation, but your very own opinion of it. You know where to go, where you like, and what impressed you. Now you can go and impress everybody else in the whole world with your opinions.
Eating Different Foods
I know, I know: nothing is better than your grandmother’s cooking. But how will you ever know if you don’t try? You never actually have to admit it to her if you like something else better. It’ll be our little secret. Dig into that seafood platter, that weird-looking egg, and the sticky thing that feels like bread, but is actually fruit. If you don’t like it, you’ll at least get a story out of it.
Noticing The Little Differences
It’s the way people walk across the street, the complicated tipping rules, the fashion faux-pas. It is the way people say hello, kiss each other on the cheek, and what time they eat dinner. You’ll never know how to structure your day to how you like it unless you try something a little different.
Gives You Something to Write About
Not always things that you’d want to tell ma or pa about, but things to write down for yourself. Or your new wicked travel blog.
Coming Back Home
While you’re away, home is often the last thing on your mind. Travel is good for making you realize how much you appreciate those little comforts at home, including your mother-in-law.
When you return from a trip, you come back a different person. You bring with you not only the amazingly comfortable new jumpsuit from Speightstown, but the wisdom of someone who had to make it on their own in a foreign country. You bring new habits that you will carry with you for the rest of your life, and sunsets that may have been cloudy, but, man, were they the perfect temperature. You bring back the love you felt by the new friendships you made, and old friends coming to visit you. You come back with some old questions answered, and a lot of new questions asked.
Most importantly, you return to love home in a whole new way: the people, a home-cooked meal, and the sunsets that you grew up with, but stopped watching a couple of years back. Let’s not forget those pesky neighbors of yours, too. Because with you gone, who are they going to yell at to “Keep it down!” and “Get off my lawn!”?
*Note: Beavertails are a fried dough dessert topped with cinnamon and sugar, chocolate, maple butter, or anything else you can think of.
