You probably read this headline thinking this girl is on something else if she thinks the airport is beautiful. But no, I’m very much sane and sober and can legitimately tell you as to why this is true.

When I was a sophomore in High School, maybe freshman who knows, I had a teacher who encouraged us to write about anything and everything. Each day, he’d give us a question and we would all write a page or so with a response. One day, he asked us all to describe something beautiful in an unexpected place and my first immediate thought was the airport.

The airport itself may appear to be this old, dirty, mismatched collection of buildings. But, it’s what’s happening inside that makes it a beautiful, astonishing, idyllic location. So basically to understand what I’m saying, you need to look deeper than the lack of Tumblr aesthetic that is a typical airport.

The airport is literally a melting pot of people from all over the world. There are thousands of people from all over the world passing through a city. Whether they stay there or not is something else. No matter what airport you are at, there will be someone from somewhere else in the world who lived a completely different life then yourself. You are surrounding yourself with cultures, languages, and races that you may have never encountered in your hometown.

You have the ability to go anywhere. The idea you can grab a ticket and head thousands of miles away to embrace a new culture is truly a remarkable concept. Some people will never see the ocean in person and feel the salt dry on their skin. And yet some people are fortunate enough to fly thousands of miles, across oceans and seas to see somewhere new.

The airport is the place of reunions and love. Every day thousands of people are reunited with their loved ones. There is absolutely nothing better than a long hug after months of face time calls and quick texts. Seeing the signs for those returning safety from defending our country or working in underdeveloped countries is heartwarming. Those people changed the world and who knows what our world be like without there bravery.

I know you still may never see the physical beauty of a lot of airports. The long TSA lines and dirty waiting areas will probably never become a piece of art. But, if there's one thing you get from this is that the ability to travel is a gift and it's so often under-appreciated. If you find yourself holding a plane ticket and a passport, you should realize just how fortunate you are.

Traveling teaches you things you will never learn in a classroom and I believe it is critical to experience that. So save up, buy a ticket and get ready to soak it all in because you never know when your next adventure will be.