For as long as I can remember I have been traveling.
My mother is from Mexico and when I was young we used to travel there often to visit family. Another time, my dad took me to Banff, Canada, where I got to experience the outdoors for the first time. Additionally, my mother took me to the Bahamas once, and even to Hawaii.
Yet, even though I have left the country a considerable amount of times, it is the traveling within it that has imprinted on me the most.
Every year, my family would plan some sort of drawn out vacation.
Typically, these travels would consist of long road trips. Sometimes we would visit family and friends, and other times we would simply be visiting attractions. Often times we would go to places like Colorado, Utah, Tennessee, and even Washington D.C. Although these trips were short-lived, the memories, experiences, and things I have learned from them have been long-lasting.
When I was younger, it was as if my family lived on the road. We were so used to packing our truck and trailer and going on the road to our destination for the summer. The sights we saw on the long lonely highways were absolutely incredible. Mountain ranges, big cities, and even the rolling plains brought something new to our experiences each time.
The people we met on our journeys also contributed to the memories I now hold of my traveling experiences.
In Mexico, I learned more about the ethnicity I belong to and about the beautiful things that have been implemented into the culture from the result of time. I learned about the beautiful people of the Bahamas and got comfortably numb to the idea of their island life. Here in the U.S., I have learned unfathomable amounts of knowledge about how culture can vary from state to state and how it affects everyone else as a whole.
The way I see it is there is something to be learned from everywhere I go.
Traveling in and of itself creates discipline and patience. As you get older you start to become aware of the fact that not everyone was raised like you, and there is more to the world than the small bubble we tend to view ourselves in. Taking a little bit from everything enriches that bubble though, and taking the time to embrace all the new things we can build our character even more.
Humans have a natural wanderlust, and a strong desire to explore.
Yet, there is always the concern about how to do it; financially and physically. Yet, we travel every day, even if we don't realize it. Some voyages may not be as luxurious as others but going to work or school is just as much traveling as taking a trip to Europe is. Everything can be turned into an adventure, and there is something to see at every corner.
Ultimately, we should view our lives as one big adventure.
Taking the time to understand that everything we do can be a learning experience can positively change the way we view our lives too. So we should take the time now while we are young to understand this and take advantage of it because we only have so long to live, and there is so much of this world to be seen.
