"I love to travel!"

You hear it all the time, from almost anyone you meet. I can't think of one soul that can tell me they don't enjoy traveling, whether it be for work, leisure, family, whatever the reason. And everyone has their own personal reasons for why they get away for a bit, everyone has their own personal motives.

For me, it's escape. For as long as I can remember, I lived paycheck to paycheck. Barely having days off and even when rare off days would happen, I couldn't go anywhere, what if they needed me? I am 110% a workaholic and for years I let that mask everything else that was important to me. I would miss family dinners, leave holiday get togethers early, and forget to call loved ones back. I let my job control my life, and I still regret it to this day.

A few years ago both of my grandparents on my fathers side passed away. It was hard on all of us, but it was a touch of reality, one that we all needed. I think it hit my father pretty hard, despite his appearance of strength. After we lost them, he talked to us in a way I never remember hearing him speak, he cared and expressed it in a way that I never remembered experiencing.

Now, we did the typical family thing growing up. We'd spend a weekend in Dallas every now and then, go to the beach for a week, go to the lake in Arkansas, but vacations changed after my grandparents died and my parents split up.

For the past two years, each summer, my father and my siblings have taken a road trip. The first one to Mount Rushmore and everything in between and the second to the Grand Canyon and whatever else we could find along the way.

I always loved getting away, even before we started going on our annual road trips. I'd drive three hours to the mountains in Arkansas just to watch the sunset and drive back, I've got a wandering spirit. My mother always tells me I have a gypsy soul while my father calls me his free spirit, they are never surprised by my latest senseless adventure.

That seed was planted when I started seeing the beauty that this world has to offer. There is nothing like looking out over an afternoon sky in Kansas and seeing nothing for as far as your eyes allow, nothing like driving through the winding roads of the mountain and seeing the carved faces of Mount Rushmore begin to come into view, but only peeks. Nothing compares to a sunset in Phoenix. No picture or words can describe the beautiful magnitude that is the Grand Canyon. And I think all of this plays a part to my need to travel. For a short while, I get to forget about everything going on at home and for the first time in a while, I get to stop and watch, breathe in the clear air, and just enjoy everything that is in front of me. I get to laugh and cry and stare to my hearts desire. I got to spend time with my family without worrying about my dad getting called off to work or someone having to be up for school in the morning, there was no limit for a little while.

I think one of the biggest things I've learned over the past few years is that there is so much more than this. There is more to life than getting an A on that test, there is more than working 40+ hours a week, there is more than the day to day stress, and everyone deserves a chance to enjoy what this world really has to offer. When you stay in one place, you don't realize everything that may be out there, all the views, all the people, and all the food-oh is there some great food out there.

So take a chance, buy the plane ticket, hop in the car and start driving, take a few days off of work and explore what you can, enjoy the world, experience things. You may find exactly what you've been missing. There's a lot to see outside of your comfort zone.