“It’s a ‘venture!”

It’s a phrase that my mom is fond of saying. Whenever we had a day off of school or a free day in the summer, an adventure was bound to begin with those three words. These outtings could be anything from a trip to an apple orchard several hours away to a hike at the park 15 minutes away or even a road trip to some awesome restaurant off the beaten trail.

I grew up learning about the world through trips to azalea gardens, history museums, Civil War battlefields, and old house museums. Mom had several books of interesting day trips in the area, but she also had a deck of cards that held information about fun, often educational activities that were just waiting to be explored. It was always so exciting to peruse through the options, my brother and I bickering about our selections as we tried to decide what adventure we would chase that day.

Now my brother and I are both in college, but the ‘ventures still continue. They may have become less frequent as we have become more busy, but we still blaze trails to new places and new experiences together as a family. Whether it’s visiting a historic town far from cell service or driving to a new place just to see what we’ll find, we always have a good time.

Some of the best learning happens outside the classroom when you get out in the world and experience all those things that you can only read about in textbooks. That’s why field trips are so great – they give you a chance to see artifacts and places with your own eyes. Doing that with my family made it that much more memorable.

Someday I hope to continue that tradition with my own children so that they can grow up with the same love of learning and sense of adventure that was instilled in me as I was growing up. After all, life’s a ‘venture!