As I write this, I am sitting on a covered patio outside mine and my sister’s room in Lucea, Jamaica. It is currently 80 degrees, slightly overcast with humidity, and if I look up from this screen I can see the ocean. I’m taking a quick break to write this so I don’t miss a week, but I’ve been at one of the prettiest coves for most of the day with my family and some close friends… I feel like one of the luckiest girls alive.

If you’ve known me for just about any length of time, you know that I have the travel bug- bad. My family travels fairly frequently, and I’m blessed to have been able to experience some of the things that I have, and to see some of the places that I have. This world is beautiful. And I think we’re missing out if we don’t take every chance we can to see more of it. So here’s 10 reasons why you should travel more:

1. There’s something for everyone. As my 11 year old friend Abi told me on the beach earlier, whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, there’s experiences waiting for you. Sometimes it looks like sitting by yourself next to the ocean, feeling really small and loving every second. Sometimes it looks like climbing mountains, zip-lining through jungles with some of your closest friends, or staring at the crab that just popped out of the sand. There’s something for everyone no matter where you go.

2. The food. As a food junkie, I would travel for the food alone…you can’t get Jamaican jerk chicken in Colorado Springs that even compares to the jerk chicken I had from the chicken shack earlier. The best bread and chocolate I’ve tasted in my life was in Paris. And don’t get me started on coconut shrimp in Puerto Vallarta. Go to new places to try more foods. Wow.

3. Travel for the people you will meet. Abi also told me that if you’re single, “the one” might very well be waiting on the other side of the world for you. Or if you’re taken, there’s a whole lot of friendships just waiting to happen. Especially with social media, it’s so easy to stay in touch with people from all backgrounds and places. I now have friends not only all across the US, but also in France, Singapore, Mexico, Ireland, and a number of other places (I haven’t even been to Singapore, but I’ve met people from everywhere on my various adventures)! I wouldn’t trade these friendships for the world.

4. Your overall health. Life is stressful sometimes, and it can take its physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual toll on a person over time. We all need to escape now and again to remember who we are and whose we are and to rest. Traveling, even if it’s to the mountains an hour away, benefits your overall health.

5. You’re more productive when you get back. Trust me. The day before vacation I can basically conquer the world (not to mention my to-do list) and after I get back I am more productive than ever because I’m well rested and my mind isn’t scattered in a million places.

6. Do it to learn. Sarah (my 9-year-old friend and Abi’s sister), just told me that everyone should travel so that they can “actually learn stuff instead of only reading about it in a book.” Traveling and going to new places gives you experiences that you can’t get in a classroom. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes things go wrong. But between being immersed in a new culture, meeting new kinds of people, and trying all kinds of new things, traveling helps you learn by doing. It’s one thing to read about European history in a textbook; it’s a whole other level to stand next to the Eiffel Tower or walk the crypts underneath Paris or see the Mona Lisa in person. You learn by doing, and what you learned sticks with you a whole lot longer than if you only read about it.

7. Travel for the memories. Memories can’t be bought; they’re priceless. I can’t remember what I got for Christmas two years ago, but I sure remember sleeping in a castle in Ireland. I remember watching my dad eat snails for the first time in Paris. I remember zip-lining with a whole bunch of friends down into the water and through a jungle in Mexico. I remember climbing the Eiffel Tower. I remember standing on the deck of a ship talking with my mom somewhere in the middle of the ocean. I remember tying bottles into chicken wire in Guatemala next to some of the most joyful kids, helping them build a school. I remember dancing with a little girl I’d only just met in a church hut in the middle of the Amazon jungle; I remember her laughter as I spun her around. I remember not being able to sleep because I was in a hammock on a boat on the Amazon river, and the sound of the monkeys in the trees was keeping me awake (pretty good reason to not be able to fall asleep). The memories you make when you adventure and dare to try new things and see new places are priceless.

8. Traveling gets you out of your comfort zone. So many of us are used to the same restaurants, people, view, and routine. It’s comfortable. But I know too many people who stay in the same place their whole lives because of a fear of experiencing something new; FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real, and when we push past that and get out of our comfort zones, we are able to grow in a new way.

9. You learn that people are people, no matter where you go. Just by talking to people in the countries I’ve visited, I can see that we all generally want the same things. We depend on each other. We are seeking to provide for our families, to be healthy, to find our purpose. We’re all seeking to find our Maker, to know why we are here and what we are supposed to be doing. We get along because we really aren’t that different. It’s the politics that make us think we have problems with one another; really, we’re all pretty similar deep down, even with our outward differences. People are people. And that’s a beautiful thing.

10. It’s fun. Traveling is fun. Even if things go wrong here and there along the way, you’re in a new place experiencing new things. There are mountains out there to climb, waterfalls to stand under, oceans to swim in, jungles to explore, foods to taste, views to take in, cultures to learn about and people to meet. People you can help. People who can help you. It’s fun.

At the end of the day, I don’t believe life was meant to be lived in a box. God created a big world and it is beautiful, and I think we are missing one of his greatest gifts if we don’t go see as much of it as we can. And that’s all that I have to say for now… Jamaica is waiting for me.