I was not raised in a traveling family. We never planned to see the world, we rarely took family vacations, and until I was in college, I had never been outside of the southeast. I remember my roots and the days of only knowing the familiar, but now I long to explore the world. During my freshman year of college, I vowed to myself that I would go at least one place a year that I had never been to, and here is why.

You learn a lot about yourself by being forced to leave behind your routine and live out of a suitcase for a week or two. I find that traveling gives me time to escape from the hectic days of my life and to enjoy everything as it is. Whether I'm flying, riding a train, or taking some other form of public transportation, I always ensure that I have my journal with me. Writing everything that I am experiencing, worried about, and wondering always seems to comfort me in some way. Though it isn't just the traveling to my destination that influences my passion for exploring, once I have arrived at my destination, I feel as though I am being challenged.

Because you are given such a limited amount of time to explore a completely new culture and environment, it almost feels like a marathon to make it through the days. I've developed extreme planning skills to ensure that I am hitting everything in the most effective way possible. We all know that everything doesn't go as planned, so I've also developed improvisational skills, stress management skills, and the important skill of learning to let things go. Everything will not always play out in the way that I want them to or have planned to, and traveling has taught me that sometimes it is for the better. Getting lost in cities that I have never been to is one of my favorite things, and it has never been a time where it was for the bad. In fact, I'd say that is how I have fully immersed myself into these new locations.

You will never completely understand a different culture because you always carry your thoughts and ideals with you, but you can learn so much from the people you encounter. Through only three short years of traveling sporadically, I have learned the importance of every individual. Each person that we pass tells their own story and contributes in some way. It is always interesting to explore the daily routines of the locals in this destination and learn what is important to them.

Traveling does not have to be this big excursion or month-long adventure to multiple countries. Traveling for a few days or weeks to a new place whether that is a country, state, or town can prove to be valuable as well. I have learned much more about myself and have grown far more than I would have ever imagined in just the three short years that I have challenged myself to travel to a new place every year. So go out, explore, and learn.