I'm sure you've heard someone at some point in your life say the phrase, "I love to travel" or "I want to travel the world." I have heard these cliche phrases on numerous occasions—I myself have even used these terms. However, I have recently discovered an entirely different concept of this great desire to travel that has in someway felt as if it was instilled within my soul for a purpose. To elaborate on this: it feels as if it is a much deeper desire that lingers, keeps me on my toes, and sends an electric shock that mentally and physically awakens my mind, body, and soul.

Wanderlust is defined as "a great desire to travel and rove." The word lust is to have a very strong sexual desire for someone so when you incorporate that with the word wander, it seems to maybe be a bit too much, right? That's what I always strongly felt as I analyzed those two meanings, but as I developed a certain sense of clarity on what it means to truly love traveling and wanting to see the world, I do not by any means think it is an exaggeration.

Wanderlust is when you literally want to travel to places—far and in between, that interest you or do not interest you just to get a new sense of perspective. It isn't about adding a new stamp on your passport and it's not about logging onto social media accounts and updating your location so everyone can see your great adventures. It is about the experience itself. It is about seeing fresh new faces that you have yet to encounter, getting a tight grip on reality, soaking in the atmosphere you are surrounded by, and enjoying yourself and what is around you. It is not just about the place, but it is also about what resides there—the individuals, culture, and the sights. There is something so uniquely intriguing about experiencing humanity and expanding our horizons on the broad cultures that are among our world today. It is about being undeniably vulnerable enough to embrace the still moment that defines what we are here for.

I have a bad case of wanderlust and I have came to terms of completely accepting it. It seems as if it is inescapable and I am longing for a new way get away to a place that I find alluring—yes, that may be true but the jist of this is to also identify that there is much more to traveling than all the fancy photos Instagram is crowded with. There is more to traveling than the destination itself, the best places to dine, and the popular site-seeing that has to be checked off your agenda. It is about about the experience—to see the world is a different light from your adventure. It edifies the idea that there is a big world out there just waiting for you to experience yourself. Wanderlust is much more than what Tumblr has made it out to be—look deeper into that and recognize the freedom in traveling and how much you can take from the experience. Don't sit in your same boxed off comfort zone, take the plunge and let the experience revitalize your mentality. It is the best thing I have ever done in my life. It has capitalized the importance of discovering my inner being and has allowing myself to be rejuvenated by its wonders. It is a beautiful and magical thing to experience the world and all that is within it—because we are so blind without the freed mind of what we have always known and never venture past that. Go and see for yourself.