My biggest passion in life is travel. Nothing gets my heart pumping more than sliding my passport over to an international immigration officer, watching them stamp it aggressively while staring me down, then flinging it back across the counter to me. I live for that moment. I love emerging from the controlled airport environment minutes later to a place I’ve never been. I feel my adrenaline levels start to surge because I know what’s out there waiting for me: adventure, excitement, and discovery. I travel because I desire to experience new things, I want to be inspired, and I want to change my own world.
New Experiences
One of my primary reasons for travel is to get out into the world and devour new experiences. Even though humans are traditionally creatures of habit, I am a creature of change. I love simply exploring a new place and being able to soak it all in. Whether it’s the unique architecture of a city or the beautiful landscape, I want to see it all.
Something I love to do before a trip is to learn parts of the language that I know I might need while I’m there. One of the most beautiful things about traveling to me is the array of different languages spoken around the world. I personally really enjoy learning new languages, and thanks to COVID, I have a life-time subscription to Rosetta Stone, and I can learn as much as their platform allows. One of my lifegoals is to become fluent in at least 3 languages. I’m incredibly jealous of anyone who can speak more than their native tongue. My Spanish is pretty good, but I’d love to push it over the edge to fluency. Then I can move on to tackling the next one. The best way to learn a new language is to be fully immersed in it, so that is one of the things about travel I look forward to most.
Speaking of something to look forward to, trying new food is at the top of my travel to-do list. Now, let me preface this my saying I’m actually a very picky eater. It’s really annoying and I wish it wasn’t so, but I am who I am. Shellfish is completely off the table, because I’m allergic to it, and I don’t eat any seafood at all. I know, I know. It’s so good for you and so many countries around the world feature seafood as their staple cuisine. Because of my limitation, I do have to pass on some iconic food experiences, but I look for dishes and specialties that I can enjoy. Especially pastries and sweets. Any bakery around the world is my favorite place to indulge. Food markets are becoming increasingly popular in major cities, and they are worth checking out, as they notoriously will put the best of what a city has to offer on display.
Of course, new experiences means that I will have tourist destinations on the agenda, but I like to balance that out with having time to just wander and stumble upon hidden gems. In addition to hitting the big-ticket items of a place, I like to mingle with locals, see what it’s really like to live there, and appreciate the place from a different perspective.
Inspiration
I have a deep longing to be inspired. I crave change and new experiences, and my soul needs constant fuel to be refreshed and motivated. I’m an extremely passionate person and if I ever feel a lack of passion in my life, I immediately know I need to schedule a trip. In fact, if I don’t have a future trip planned, I actually have anxiety about it. I might be taking you too deep inside my soul, but it’s the honest truth. Travel is what keeps my heart beating. To be in awe of something, to marvel at something truly beautiful, it’s what feeds my spirit. I sincerely feel that distance and difference to what I’m used to seeing and experiencing every day gives me a renewed sense of passion and creativity. I then go home with a transformed appetite for life.
Change My World
In addition to creating memories from new experiences and becoming inspired by my travels, I also want to come home changed for the better. Nothing else has more power to transform a person. For me, it’s really important to expand my worldview with travel. Traveling pushes me out of my comfort zone. It tests me in ways that only visiting a new place and meeting people different from you can do. It makes me see life from diverse perspectives, and I’m able to understand the way that other people go through life. It helps me to appreciate the life I have, and it motivates me to make my life even better when I get home.
Every culture that I’ve come across in my travels is so unbelievably beautiful. Being surrounded and emersed in a different culture allows you to identify with new ideals and beliefs that they hold dear. It forces you to examine your truths and the way you think about life. Experiencing cultures different from my own has transformed my own little world with new colors, flavors, and feelings that I would never have had otherwise. Everywhere I’ve been and everyone I’ve met is part of what makes me the person I am today. I consider that the greatest gift of travel, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to explore and grow.