I recently had the opportunity to go to Hong Kong, China with my dad, who travels a lot because of business. Not only was the trip itself full of mind-blowing, beautiful views, heart-pumping adventures, and quality time with the coolest man I know, it also opened my eyes and mind to some earth-rattling revelations that are hard to put into words, so I'll do the best I can.
We are small. As college students, it's so easy to get caught in our own little bubbles – the routine of a class schedule, the people in our sorority or fraternity, our campus, and our closest friends – and lose site of the fact that people and places do, in fact, exist outside of our people, places and things. Traveling anywhere will remind you of the fact that this world is HUGE, and we are only a small fraction of it. This is humbling and comforting, especially when you feel like your "bubble" isn't satisfying you.
Believe it or not, other cultures exist outside of ours. It's no secret that a lot of Asian cultures vary greatly from many American cultures, but I was shocked to see in which ways this held true. People have widely different notions of "rude" vs. "polite," different societal norms and economic statuses, different means of making a living, and people drive on the left side of the road instead of the right, making crossing the street a very stressful event.
No two places are the same. I kept a detailed blog that documented each day of my short, week-long trip. In doing so, I realized just how hard it was to describe Hong Kong, because it was so unlike any place I had ever been. There are parts of it that strongly resemble New York City – busy, bustling city streets filled with people on a tight schedule, rushing to get to their destinations, sky scrapers that jab assertively and gracefully into the sky, creating one of the most majestic skylines I've ever seen, and unique, street-side stalls of vendors selling newspapers, street food, and various other items. But Hong Kong as a whole is not comparable to anywhere else in the world, because just a block away from those huge buildings and busy street markets are miles and miles of rolling hills, fishing villages, beaches, bays, rivers, and a completely different rural culture set back from the fast-paced urban happenings nearby. Sometimes the only way to describe a place is through pictures.
You can sleep when you're dead. I am a napper. It's a past time of mine, one of my favorite hobbies, and something I cherish over a lot of things. But, y'all, this world is too big and beautiful for us to sleep through, and having only five days to soak in as much culture and as many sights as I could, opened my eyes to the fact that we need to make the most of every second we have. There is so much to see and do, even if you've been traveling for 30 consecutive hours and really just need a pillow under your head, stat.
There is adventure around every corner. Traveling changes your perception and alters your perspective when it comes to adventure and where and how to seek it. I live in a sleepy, middle of nowhere, Southern Maryland town that I absolutely adore, but find boring a lot of the time. This trip had me googling "nature parks in Calvert County," and "popular American road trip destinations," and searching Groupon for "cheap" flights to Venice. Adventure exists around every corner, not just in far-off world cities, but in the newly discovered backroad of your home town, the creek by your old elementary school, and the hiking trail that's just a quick hour-long drive from your house.
No matter where you've been or where you'll go, a certain part of you is changed when you travel. It's impossible to describe because it's such a personal feeling, but your heart, mind, and soul are opened to the endless opportunities of this world, and once you've been bitten by the travel bug, there's just no going back.
