This is where I, a weathered and well-aged individual of 19 years, offer up my wisdom to you youngsters of the interwebs after my many life experiences and adventures. In my time, I have witnessed some horrors, stood beside friends who suffered some of the worst hardships in life and been fortunate enough to travel a good portion of the United States and European Union. While my first statement may have been exaggerated and slightly false, the second is nothing but true. Now don't get me wrong, I have lead quite a privileged life, mostly thanks to my parents, extended family and close friends. I had everything a small, somewhat spoiled child could've asked for. Family vacations to visit extended family in other states, summer camps where I got to sail or paint or zip-line and plenty of quality moments with people whom I care about and who care about me. All of this being said, there is one thing, I think, more than anything else, that challenges you and helps you grow as a person like nothing else in this world. What is that thing? You guessed it, traveling. As such, I thought it appropriate to gather some wisdom from men and women far wiser than myself who have pieces of advice for us all. Here goes:
1) "The World is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - Augustine of Hippo
If there's one thing I learned from my time in other countries, it is how true this quote rings. In our modern society it is so easy to get caught up in our busy daily routines that we forget about how much there is out there that is new and exciting and foreign.
2) "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain
Immersing yourself in someone else's culture is the quickest way to not only learn new things, but to grow compassion for all people.
3) “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” - Gustave Flaubert
When you get a chance to forget yourself and who you are within moments of pure wonder in a new place, you are open to a whole new world of thought about why we are here and what we can do.
4) “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Andre Gide
Don't get me wrong, traveling is not some easy-going, no-big-deal thing. It does take courage and sometimes a little bit of a push from a loved one to leap out of your comfort zone and do things you had previously never dreamed of.
5) “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” - Mark Twain
Whether you are the type of person who loves to explore and meet new people and live life to the fullest, or the type who is more than happy to stay home surrounded by loved ones and familiarity, nearly every person at the end of their life time has regret for the things that they DIDN'T do.
6) “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” - Anonymous
And how true this is. I won't lie and say it doesn't cost much to travel, because in most cases it does. However, the intangible things you gain from traveling are worth so much more than you can imagine.
7) “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” - Shirley MacLaine
In our current world that seems to be so divided and politically charged, we constantly hear one group of people or another being targeted. Harsh words or false stereotypes become assumptions in heads that then use those upon first judgement of a person. When you go and actually experience life with the people you judge, though, it is so hard to keep those stereotypes in your head because you start to see life and the world from their point of view. And when you can understand someone else, it's much harder to hate them.
