Excitement buzzes through every row as the plane grazes the runway— finally, the touch down into a new, unknown environment I have yet to unearth. I’ve always had a fascination with traveling, especially with the means of flight to explore anywhere in the world, if you're fortunate enough to have the money and time. When I land in a different state or another country, I look around at all the unfamiliar faces and try to understand their state of mind — are they returning home after months away? Are they tourists, first timers, or frequent fliers? Are they here on business endeavors or unfortunate circumstances? As a few smiles catch my glance, I instantly wonder, are they as curious as I am?

The thing I love most about experiencing exotic, contrasting places is the people I come in contact with. The greatest experience of all is human connection; conversation flowing, points of views exchanging, and for a moment, someone is allowing you to dip into their world through their eyes. The contrasting cultures can seem intimidating at times because their way of the world differs than ours in the way we talk, eat, interact, dress, etc., but it’s extremely special to become an outsider on the inside, especially when you allow yourself to be fully engulfed in their ways.

When you go in without prejudices and only allow yourself to respect their cultures, you are truly living. You are learning and growing from being hands on, and with that, you’ll have a better understanding of the vast world we live in; traveling reminds you how precious this life is, and how truly small we are. Our lives are so minuscule, our problems are even smaller than that — our troubles are forever fleeting, changing, and rearranging, and we will always experience struggles, but traveling and exploration reminds us to focus on optimism and gratitude.

Reaching new heights and achieving plans you created, you truly find what you are capable of and what your soul exudes. You see your truest colors come to life when you are in a new, unfamiliar setting; whether that’s adventuring solo or with the love of your life or a group, you’ll see exactly what you’re made of. So I say go for it: adventure far and wide and know the secrets of the Earth’s people, make a new friend, check more things off your bucket list, and most importantly, live while you’re alive.