Travel bugs come in all shapes in sizes; I happen to be one of them. Traveling is one of the most addicting “hobbies” if you will. While it is much too expensive to be a hobby, it is something that once you get a taste of, you’re hooked. While my list of experienced places may not be a mile long, the list of places I would like to go certainly is. One day I hope that changes because the world is a big place and you really haven’t lived until you’ve seen it all.

Whether it is Africa, Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, Israel, Russia, France, or even our less exotic but ever-friendly neighbor, Canada, there isn’t a place that isn’t worth seeing. Every different place has something different to offer. The culture, food, and people all bring something new and exciting to the table to learn about. When someone in a foreign country offers you baby eels to eat like spaghetti, the experience would be lost if you said no. Traveling opens up an entire new world of opportunities and chances that are just waiting to be taken. Trying new things that you never expected to be exposed to in your life, going on adventures in places that you can’t pronounce, making new memories and creating new stories to tell the grandchildren; that is what traveling is about. Experiencing the unexpected and experiencing it with a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye.

In my opinion, it is much too easy to lose sight of the world we live in when we’re here in America. We are safe, protected, financially manageable, and we don’t have to wake up wondering if a bomb is going to blow up our town or not. That is not something to take for granted, yet if you have only ever lived and seen this country, it is likely that you are at a disadvantage to being able to be aware of the rest of the world on a personal level. Beyond just reading about things in the news and feeling the disconnect, your mind jumps to the feeling of being in that country and wondering what things would have been like if you were there in that moment instead of months earlier. Traveling is much more than just a enjoyable luxury that gives people a chance to see the other beautiful places on our earth. Traveling is an opportunity to open one’s eyes to the real world that exists just outside of the American borders.

There is something so satisfying when you are able to breeze in and out of an airport to catch your international flight. To know exactly what you need to remove from your bags in order to slide through security without having to get pulled aside and pat down. There is something so satisfying to that moment when you walk into the stand-up metal detector and assume the position before the security officer can give you the spiel about what to do; then to be asked if you travel often. There is something ever so satisfying about being able to say, “Yes, I do travel often.” Even though it’s been a while since I’ve traveled internationally, I have traveled more than five times in the past three months and at this point I can fall asleep on any flight, find any gate, pack appropriately and dress perfectly to get through a day of travel, no matter how long.

I take an immense amount of pride in my traveling abilities as well as the knowledge I have gained from my traveling experiences. While I know that not everybody has the privilege of traveling, it is something that I consider to be an essential piece to learning and growing up to be balanced and understanding of the bigger picture that we’re all a part of. Never miss a chance to travel if the opportunity presents itself. The chance may never come again and the potential experiences will be lost, take the time to open your eyes, heart and soul to the world around you. The world has so much to offer and (minus the expenses) it is only a plane ride away, stop waiting. Hop on a plane and go start living.