Two of my friends at Machu Picchu

As I was coming home from my Monterey mini-vacation this weekend, I was reminiscing about my world travel adventures that seem like so long ago.  The back packing, the exotic lands, the insatiable intrigue constantly runs through my veins as if I am a meth addict going cold turkey (heroin would have been too extreme).  It has almost been a year since my last international trip and strangely enough I tend to feel a sense of displacement if I am here for too long (no offensive, I love Monterey).  However,  I’m only 24 and at this point I have tallied 12 countries, countless unique experiences and 2362 mispronounced words.  I have to give the credit to my mom for making me realize the virtues of traveling at an early age (actually it was more like forcing me to travel).  If it wasn’t for that push I wouldn’t have seen my first naked woman at the age of 11 on a Australian beach or walked 300 plus steps up a steep hill, at night, in the rain, only to realize the only hotel in the small Italian village was not a hotel at all, but rather, a castle.  However, I believe the essence of world travel goes beyond ones’ unique experiences and instead represents the accumulation of those experiences into shaping one’s perspective.  I am sure you’ve heard, “traveling the world will make you a better person”…well here is why I think that statement is true:

1. Travel forces you to be fully present- Once you’re overseas, many of your  responsibilities, problems and other situations ceased to exist.  Many thoughts that make up your “everyday” day are not needed to fulfill your life while traveling.  Therefore, as Eckhart Tolle puts it, your “mental noise” is at a minimum and you are able to witness the true essence of what is around you (may sound corny, but true).  Process this for one second and ask yourself why is everything foreign more beautiful?  I want to say that most people (including myself) think that the majority of atheistic beauty in the world, have it be: architecture, landscapes, people… is far from home.  Most people will argue that things that are foreign are beautiful because they are exotic, rare, etc…which I agree with.  However, I think the real reason why we find beauty in things overseas is because we create a vast distance between the present moment (overseas) and your chronic thinking (home).  The freedom from your mind allows you to experience the true beauty in things that are typically labeled by your ever churning mind.  Simply put, it is easier to experience life in its purest from.

2. Travel helps you make unlikely friends- When you’re in your social bubble at home, you will probably notice that your friends are very much alike.  They speak the same language, have the same style, are interested in the same topics, so on and so forth.  When you are backpacking overseas you are pushed into a whole new kind of social strata, one which can be very unfamiliar.  Depending on if your mode of travel, you are often forced to create rapport with people just to get by or remain sane.  Therefore, you often create relationships with people from all kinds of different backgrounds.  The best way to make friends overseas is to find a common interest.  If they’re the athletic type start talking about soccer, if they’re of the opposite sex start talking about dating customs…not only will you be able to discuss a topic enjoyable to you but you will get a very unique spin on the topic.  Once the foundation is set, it is usually easy to branch off to more interesting topics of conversation and sometimes more interesting groups of friends.  If you can learn to make friends overseas, think about what type of interpersonal successes you are setting your self up for later down the road.

3. Traveling leads to cultural understanding- CNN and Fox News will give you only one side of the story.  Throughout our country’s history there has always been a culture, religion or country polarized by us in order to keep the world “at balance”.  For example, right now, the concept of Islam (or just the word itself) is scary to many Americans right now, because they associate it with all that is terrifying about the world.  What most fail to notice is that there are direct parallels between our cultures and practiced religions.  Traveling allows you to recognize both the differences and similarities of typically polarized cultures.   An open minded person can find the charm in what is different and the appreciation for what is similar.  When it comes down to it, all cultures is made up of people, and people are people.  Therefore finding understanding  is only as difficult as we make it out to be.

4. Travel forces you to do the uncomfortable- When you’re at home life is simple.  Most people work at the same office everyday, eat the same burrito two times a week and has the same comfortable routine at the gym.  However, when you are abroad your whole world can be turned upside down.  Real vagabonds sleep in in smelly bunk beds face to face with strangers, say funny words like “merci“, “danke” and “kamsamnida” in exchange for food and wear the same clothes for days at a time (or was that just me?).  This is somewhat of a stoic approach to travel, as testing your comfort zone often tests your emotional fortitude.

5. The more you see the less you know- Yes, profound words taken right from the mouth of a singer I heard at a Barnes and Noble..haha.  This is probably the single most important reason why someone should travel…simply to understand that true understanding is unattainable.  To understand that you are a very small element of what makes up a vastly diverse world.  Not to say that every person is insignificant but instead to help people realize that they need to live lives of significance.  Why bog yourself down with little day to day problems when there is an entire world to explore that has never heard of such problems.  The world is much like the internet, the more land you explore or links you click, the more you notice that there is so much to learn.  To most this is a scary thought, to few this is extremely thrilling…try to find the thrill in the unknown!

What are some other reason why traveling the globe may help you become a better person? I am excited to hear some ideas and put them into practice next time I am abroad

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