I’m currently sitting in seat 37A - a window seat (#BLESS) - en route to Maui, Hawaii. There are so many things that I am looking forward to, especially since I’ve never been to Hawaii before. I’m excited to have authentic Kona coffee, to snorkel in the crystal water with the fishies, to spend the weekend with my loving family, get a wonderful summer glow in mid-March, etc.

Before all of that, though, it is required to go through the airport and sit on a plane for six hours.

I honestly never understood why so many people hate airports. I love them - the chaos, the confusion, the thousands of people - I love it all. There’s something so exciting about trying to maneuver your way through check-in, security, and then finally racing to find your gate. All of it ads to the excitement and anticipation of the new adventure that is to take place after six hours of flying above the clouds, over the Pacific.

My favorite part about traveling, though, is the take-off. You know exactly when it’s about to happen. You hear the plane’s engine get louder and louder, and your cabin begins to shake as the wheels start rolling down the runway. When I feel it, I look out my window. Things start to pass by faster and faster, and before I know it, the plane lifts and my stomach drops. We’re in the air. Cars on the freeway get smaller, and as we fly over the Pacific, the boats get smaller, too. Soon, we are so high up that all I can see is a blanket of clouds covering the ocean.

The whole ordeal offers a wildly unique perspective of the world. So often, we focus solely on the realm that is within our direct line of sight, but when you’re tens of thousands of feet in the air, you can see so much more than you would otherwise.

I think that sometimes we are so concerned with our own little worlds that we forget how big the actual world is, and there is more to it than the problems and crises that are mentioned in the news. This planet is beautiful and teeming with life, and it’s our job - our privilege - as its inhabitants to go out beyond the “world of Haley Yazbek” and see all that our home has to offer. Your hometown and mine are just microscopic parts of a whole.

So dare to go beyond your world and experience the magnitude and depth of the rest of the world around you. I can guarantee that once you’re up in the air, you’ll feel the incredible sense of inspiration and adventure that I do now. ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!