Those who know me probably are aware that one item on my Bucket List is to travel to all 50 states, and all seven continents. So far, I have been to 25 states, and the only place I have been to outside of the United States is Bermuda. I yearn to travel, meet new people, experience new things, new cultures, new food, new anything. I tend to not stay in one place too long. There's just something exciting about seeing new places. We humans tend to be infatuated with the unknown and seek to solve life's mysteries. There's a thrill, a curiosity to know what we don't already know or what may even be unknowable; my dad’s definition of religion is man’s attempt to know the unknowable. Maybe curiosity killed the cat. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or so I have heard..

Merriam-Webster defines Wanderlust as the strong desire to travel. I have a strong desire to travel: thus the title, Wanderlust.

I am not an avid reader, but I do know one thing as a result of reading: knowledge is power, and one of my favorite quotes about traveling is from Saint Augustine, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” I may not want to read, but I do want to travel.

Here are 10 reasons why I want to travel, in no particular order.

1. The experience itself

Anyone whom I have talked to about studying abroad has raved about the unforgettable experience they had. It's unlike any other, and no words can fully describe it; you just have to experience it for yourself. That experience is not limited to studying in another country; merely traveling abroad is enough, with all the added bonuses. Traveling on my own gives me a sense of freedom and personal accountability. I found that just traveling from Long Island to NYC recently, navigating trains, buses, drop offs and pick ups made me feel much more like an adult and free from the bubble of the college world. I'm up for any new adventure and experience. Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”

2. Make new friends

One of the advantages of travelling anywhere is the opportunity to meet new people; this is even more important when travelling abroad. Hopefully, these new acquaintances will become lifelong friends. It is always great to meet people who can show you the tourist spots in more depth but it is even better to meet people who can take you to the places only locals know about. They are connections you can have across the globe forever, friends to come back to on future visits. The people who will show you a good time and help you experience the new place to its fullest. And if you are in a large organization, like for me my sorority, Chi Omega, then you likely will be able to connect with other members across the globe, making traveling more feasible financially and more fun.

3. Indulge in the food (isn’t everything always about the food?)

C'mon now. Who goes somewhere without eating the deliciousness that comes from the home or restaurant kitchen? When I go somewhere new, I love ordering whatever is unique to that place and something that I cannot order at home or nearby. I have also heard that the Americanized versions of most ethnic food cannot come even close to the authentic food in its home country.

4. Sample the wine

Unless you live near a vineyard in the U.S., you probably do not have as much love or appreciation for a great bottle of wine as those who do. In other countries, it is customary to drink wine with your meal at almost every meal. You can learn the appropriate food pairings (which also can be good knowledge to have when you have to attend or host professional social events) and you can even learn about how the wines are made. Part of my summer job this summer was serving wine to members and guests at the private golf club where I worked in The Hamptons as well as private dinner parties, and if people would ask me questions about the wines, I did not know enough about them to give them informed answers. Some of the people I served have their own world renowned wine collections, one of which contained a $1,600 bottle that I served in a decanter. I worked for people for whom wine is a part of their culture, their family custom, or just a prized possession, and I hope to learn everything I can about wine, so I am not the “ignorant server girl” some of the members and guests I served this summer might have thought of me. One thing I have already learned is that many studies have shown that red wine has a lot of health benefits, so I am on my way to becoming a xenophile. I learned this summer that many Mediterranean people eat a diet that consists of primarily wine, olive oil, and vegetables, and they live to be more than 100 years old, so there must be something to this wine being healthy for you thing.

5. Experiment with photography

I follow a bunch of travel and photography blogs, plus I have my own Pinterest travel boards, all of which contain seemingly endless numbers of astonishing pictures of most of the greatest wonders of the ancient and modern world. Those sites are probably even more breathtaking in person, and I would love to experience them for myself in person. I have dabbled in photography during my art education, and I have such a high appreciation for great photography that I would love the opportunity to try my hand at capturing great images of those places myself. I consider myself to be a pretty observant person, and photography gives me a way to document that, by pausing moments in time at the click of a button or touch of a screen, and keeping fleeting moments forever with us. Eliiot Erwitt, a famous advertising and documentary photographer, said, “Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

6. Hear and speak another language

I have taken a combined six years of Spanish language education throughout elementary, middle, and high school, but I have not taken any more Spanish classes in my first two years of college.. Lacking the courage to speak to natives (who also spoke various slang and different dialects from different regions of many different countries where Spanish was the primary language spoken), plus forgetting it over my summer breaks, I never became fluent in the language. I have a lot of respect for individuals who ARE able to master multiple languages, and I would love the opportunity to master at least Spanish in addition to my native language of American English. Traveling to a country where most of the people speak a different language would allow me to immerse myself in the language and force myself to speak it in order to manage on my own in another country.

7. Learn another culture

One of my minor areas of studies at the University of Rochester is anthropology, which is defined as the study of human beings and their ancestors over time, in terms of social relations, environment, beliefs, and culture. I love learning about other people's lives, how they live on a daily basis, what makes their culture different from mine. And when you are open to new experiences like me, this becomes a lot easier. If you go into any new experience with an open mind and practice cultural relativism (studying the views, beliefs, and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself), then you will likely learn and have an appreciation for their culture as well as your own. I want to experience it all - the sports, the arts, the music, the language, the rituals, the food, and more.

8. Learn history

I want to see historical places. Castles. Museums. Battle Grounds. Monuments. History has a tendency to repeat itself, and by learning the patterns we can better understand how to change the future and make more informed decisions. We learn from mistakes, but we can also learn from the mistakes of others. Plus, I like learning random facts. I am intrigued by things like the DaVinci Code (as fiction as it may be), and symbolism and the world is filled with it.

9. Gain new perspectives

By traveling, you gain new perspectives on other countries, on other people, and even about yourself. The famous Irish playwright (and co-founder of the London School of Economics) George Bernard Shaw once said, "Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself,"and I'd say that people tend to do that when they travel.

10. Gain new knowledge

I find myself learning something new every day, and that is more frequently the case when you travel. The more new experiences that you encounter, the more you are exposed to gaining new knowledge.

The overall benefits of traveling is a life’s book of endless possibilities, and I hope that by this time next year, I will have completed more of my own traveling goals, and written several articles about my traveling experiences, but until then, Go Explore! There’s a great big world out there!