Why I Love Traveling

"Here's something interesting about me: I love traveling.

Sure, I love it for all the cliché reasons: I love meeting new people, I love seeing new places, I love trying new things and having a break from my daily routine.

But there is a very personal reason I love traveling too: I grew up in a family that moved around quite a bit and also just traveled a lot in general.

Traveling is something that has always been a part of me and therefore always will be.

I love it because I'm used to being out of place. I grew up living in a transient lifestyle. Which meant new schools and new friends every couple years.

I like not fitting in.

I know it sounds stupid. But to me to it's magical and empowering.

For me, traveling is going somewhere and being clueless about the environment I'm in. You start out knowing absolutely nothing.

It leads to adventures: diving headfirst into the unknown, which you can only do in a place you know nothing of. I love immersing myself in a culture I know nothing about. I love slowly learning the small daily rituals in a country's lifestyle. I love learning bits and pieces of the native language. I love walking through the local market and having all the vendors explain all the knickknacks they sell.

You learn so much from being a complete outsider. You're constantly observing the people around you: the way they talk, their actions, their values.

Here's what we don't realize: the less you know, the more motivated you are to gather all the knowledge you possibly can.

Nobody should fear the unknown. The unknown is what leads to the most growth. We grow when we learn. There is nothing wrong with the known: it offers comfort. But if we want to become better everyday, you have to go through the unknown."

Hey guys! So this a little different from my usual posts: this was written by a friend of mine who I think has an incredibly interesting and unique point of view. Please comment on what you thought below as I'm trying to convince her to co-write this blog with me!