Theres no place like home. However, you don't truly appreciate home until you leave it.
What are some benefits of traveling? Heres a small list:
#1. Experience
Believe it or not mastering the art of travel is not as easy as just simply showing up and sitting on a mode of transportation. The beauty is in the detail. And I'm not talking about the accommodations of first class vs coach. Proper prior planning prevents poor performance. Traveling requires you to plan ahead and anticipate any and all possible outcomes. What the weather like? Will it rain? Wheres my boarding pass? What is a boarding pass? What zone am I in? Does this ship go through the bermuda triangle? How long is this flight? Can you bring food through customs? Do Do heels get caught in cobblestone? Am I going to need a jacket? How much underwear should I pack? Maybe I should bring extra socks? What if my flip flop breaks? This was all one weekend trip to New Orleans.
Anticipating any and all possibilities is really for your benefit. I can tell you from experience, having your shoe break in Disney is not fun. Nothing can really prepare for that but you can rest assured when you have a backup pair. You also never want to go to a nice dinner without the right attire.
What about non-apparel related? Something to consider, sharing a space. I know we have all stayed in hotels and there is the DREADED "Oh no! I have to poop!" moment. Really it isn't a big deal, everybody poops and if your not well you should see a doctor. But you know from experience that there are ways to keep your bathroom activities on the DL. Travel size air fresheners, febreeze, matches or my personal favorite Poo-pouri. Which leads us to benefit number two.....
#2 Resourcefulness
There is no shortage of ways your trip can be destroyed. There are just as many ways to save it, though. Poo-pouri is my go-to example for this one. Bathroom habits are sacred but on full display when you share a hotel or living space for a time. Since little tricks can make all the difference. When sharing a room with two other women I invested the $15 into a small bottle of the eucalyptus mint scented spray and gladly announced it to the other girls that they could use it as often as they wanted. I know I would. Aside from it breaking the ice and getting rid of any insecurity the room smelt great all weekend. You can't stop things from happening but you can always be ready to bounce back from it.
Want a different example? Ride Disney buses long enough before you get tired of it and decide to start using an Uber instead. Does it get you where you need to go? Yes. Does it get you there faster? Yes. Do you have to wait in one or two extra lines? No. Learning from your mistakes and/or experiences is great just don't make the same ones if you want different results.
#3 Patience
Were you expecting this one? Not many do. But guess what? You won't be as impatient in grocery lines after sleeping in an airport six hours on Christmas eve after all flights home are grounded due to inclement weather. Or my personal favorite..... when the plane just didn't show up at all. Not like Unsolved Mysteries kind of didn't show up but like just didn't take off because the pilot didn't show up that day.
#4 Knowledge
Off the top of your head how many ounces are you allowed to bring onboard in a carry on? Well I'll just tell you, three. Three ounces. (In case you were wondering thats not even enough to completely shampoo my hair in one shower sitting) With the amount you can actually fit in some suitcases you might not even be able to have a size larger than 3 ounces anyway. But nothing puts a damper on the start of your trip than to have the toiletries bag taken from you because all your liquids are over the carry on limit. Can't wash you bits without body wash. And you didn't bring money to buy new toiletries! That money is for souvenirs (Mickey mouse ears), booze and food!
#5 Cultural understanding
Its great to be full to bursting with town pride. Even better to be proud of whatever state your are from and then you leave the country and suddenly "I hope no one realizes I'm from America" is your mantra the whole trip.
Its great to visit different parts of your own country but its even better to visit different countries. Why well aside from trying the food or drinking the local concoctions, if you pay attention you will notice similarities and differences with the locals. Their sense of humor may be dry or overly sarcastic, maybe not even existent. Their manners and mannerisms may be completely different from your own, they may seem rude to you while you may seem strange and needy to them.
When you go to these other places you experience something like being a minority which is a vast contrast to being a tourist. Suddenly no one speaks English, no one things you eyeliner "on leek" is impressive, no one thinks your Prada heels were a good idea to wear while walking on cobblestones, you (a woman especially) can't enter the holy city with your shoulders and knees exposed and your Louis Vutton is a neon sign for pick-pockets. You look like a crazy American who has no idea how to make it through their idea of life. Well they aren't wrong.
On my first cruise, I incorporated a tip I learned from my travels to Italy and New Orleans. Instead of my favorite Betsy Johnson bag, I sported my Darth Vader backpack. My older cousin laughed at my fashion choice and made a comment about my backpack. In a brutally honest way I responded "Well, who do you think they are more likely to target? The girl with the Coach bag or the asshole wearing the Darth Vader backpack?" I was able to walk through markets without being pestered. When you don't look like you have money people don't try to take it from you.
Theres a lot to be gained by learning about other countries, their laws, their ways and why they do things. Places that have been around eons longer than the United States have a thing or two they could tell you because they experienced a great many things in their much longer existence. You can view it as snobbery if you wish, I choose to see it as experience.
The most important tip you learn is to see how other people live, whether in your own country or outside of it, learn how different things make the lives of other people. Some have nothing and celebrate being alive everyday. Some have everything and always think theres time tomorrow to enjoy it. Seeing how life can be enjoyed by so many different people in so many different ways gives you different opportunities to find your happiness, to live even better than you have been.
Maybe you won't have castles and ancient ruins all over your neighborhood but you can appreciate your own local history. Maybe instead of eating ramen you will make homemade soup thats reminds you of a dish you had in that far away land that warmed your heart from your stomach. Either way, all of these things are ways to improve your quality of life. Even if you think it doesn't need improvement.
