My last trip overseas was a little over 2 years ago, and to say that it makes me sad that I haven’t been able to leave South Africa since then would be a gross understatement.
I’ve been infatuated with flying since 1994 and that has not changed, but my addiction to travel started when I got older and visited Italy and Greece with my mother in 2009. I was old enough to go exploring on my own, and being in a city like Rome that I had been fascinated with for the longest time was a dream come true.
Those few hours alone on the last day of the trip was when the travel bug really bit me. I could take in every sight and sound without worrying about where my mom was or having to keep up with a tour group. I remember that feeling as if it were yesterday; it was priceless.
There is something that happens to you when you travel. You don’t just learn new things, but any ego that you may have had will start to dissipate because being in a foreign place forces you to think differently and become humbled and vulnerable to the fact that everyone around you knows more than you do. Who you are means nothing; you become no one.
You look at the simplest of things differently: the cobbled streets, the flower-lined window boxes, the locals’ morning routine, the smell of freshly baked pastries at the corner bakery or the richness of your coffee, how much more green the grass appears, how locals commute and interact with each other…you learn to appreciate every waking moment.
Because you’re less in a hurry, you realize there’s more to life than moving faster and trying to get ahead of everyone else. You appreciate nature’s power and richness more, and you even start to notice the way the sunlight falls through the trees. You are engaged in the present moment in every sense.
Travelers learn. You absorb a country’s history, art, and culture not just by visiting museums, but by walking by and listening to the locals’ stories or sharing a meal with them. You understand what diversity really means, gaining both context and perspective, and you become wiser in areas you didn’t even know you needed to learn about.
When you travel, you appreciate people more. And I don’t mean just that random stranger who helped you catch a train, I mean someone back home who you perhaps haven’t spoken to for a while. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and when you travel, it’s not the physical distance that counts, it’s the mental clarity you get from being in a foreign place and experiencing things differently.
You notice both the differences and similarities with home all at the same time. In fact, when you travel, you learn more about your own home and appreciate what you have rather than what you don’t. I am grateful because I travel.
Travel has taught me to see humanity and the world as one. There are no borders. We are connected in so many ways and yet no matter how much you learn, there is always something more waiting for you around the corner. You relish getting lost not just in the streets, but in how you think even in your own little apartment back home because getting lost in a foreign place opens your mind and sense of exploration, and even gets the adrenaline pumping. That open-mindedness stays with you in everything you do and everywhere you go. Forever.
Travel is the very reason why I want to contribute to the world, why I’m curious, and why I care. Travel gives everything meaning, and not being able to leave my country right now breaks my heart. Some days it feels like someone took out a part of my soul, and then I remember all the gifts that travel has given me and I remind myself that one day I will be able to set foot on a plane again and get lost in the skies.
Travel is an investment in yourself. When you can, buy that ticket, and just go.