Fernweh. Saudade. Vagary. Solivagant. Wanderlust. These are all words from a variety of countries that attempt to capture the fear, excitement, and love that comes with traveling. Webster Dictionary and Dictionary.com both describe Wanderlust as some variety of possessing a "strong, innate desire to travel." But any world wanderer knows these simple words and definitions just simply are not enough. When traveling, you leave a tiny part of your heart in every place you go, and there are even more pieces of your heart already existing in places you haven't even been to or heard of yet. I've been lucky enough to have spent a good bit of my life traveling around the United States with my family, friends, and for school. St. Louis,Missouri. Biloxi, Mississippi. Charleston, South Carolina and a ton of other places in between. These are just a few of the places that have excited my passion for traveling and seeing as much of this amazing world as I can. I have known since a very young age that I would eventually like to start adventuring around the world, and I was excited for it all to begin. I never could have realized just how important traveling would become to me. My slowly growing view of the world was completely blown wide open last summer when I was given the chance to study abroad in Germany.
As a student in a summer program, I was only in Europe for 7 short weeks but while I was there, I did more than I would have ever thought possible. I traveled to 4 different countries (Denmark, Germany,France, and England). I tried food from at least 15 different cultures (German, Italian, French, African, Indian, Mediterranean and many more). I visited a few of Germany's most popular places to visit (such as the Black Forest, Cologne, Munich, the Felsenmeer). I learned a years worth of beginners German (which I practiced with my host family every day at breakfast, lunch and dinner, much to everyone's amusement). I learned how to order food, ask for directions, buy a train ticket (and a plane ticket). I discovered that culture shock was not nearly as shocking as reverse culture shock when I came home. Life in Europe was so much simpler than in America. People mind their own business in public. You can get anywhere you want by tram or train for little to nothing. There are tons of markets with fresh foods, bakeries and restaurants line the streets in any city (gelato is way better than American Ice Cream, by the way).
I was so lucky to have the opportunity to travel while in college. When you travel, and you find yourself thinking about all those special places or looking at memories from you time there, you can feel that small chunk tugging at your heart strings. Every time I find myself staring at a photo from choir trips to Disney Land or Niagara Falls, or see a picture of Heidelberg or my German host family and friends, my heart breaks a little. I can feel, very distinctly, the little tiny piece that is missing, calling me home across the sea. I have wanderlust in my blood. And it is, and will forever be, one of my favorite parts about myself. No matter if you are 20 years old, or getting close to 90, if you feel that fever in your veins, never let age, money, ignorance, or fear of losing your heart keep you from reuniting with your memories, or from creating new ones. I promise you that every moment spent as a citizen of the worth is worth anything you risk leaving behind.
