Why Do We Travel?

I have often mentioned that I am greatful for the ability to travel, but I have never explained why. When you think about it, travelling is a tedious, stressful, and expensive process. From packing heavy suitcases to purchasing airplane tickets at absurd prices to getting lost in a foreign country, it seems safer and easier to stay at home, in our comfort zone. However the rewards you get from travelling far outwiegh the burdens of it. Here are the two main reasons for why I love travelling:

1. The idea of getting out of my comfort zone is exciting to me. It makes me nervous, stressed out, and a little scared, but it also exposes me to wonders I didn't even know existed. Whether that be parasailing in Thailand with a  questionable parachute, or having to use a sock as a wallet, travel teaches us about many an odd thing.

2. Experiencing other cultures first-hand is nothing like reading about them in your history books. I think that it's amazing to be able to actually meet natives and just talk to them about what they dow and what their daily lives are like, something that reading travel guides can't quite capture. In the modern era, we talk about how globalization is ending the establishment of unique cultures as we know it and how commercialism contributes to the degradation of rich culutral traditions, but I respectufully disagree: globalization is what allows us to learn about different cultures, and help improve our own. The idea of being a global citizen, concerned with the welfare of one's own country and the rest of the world, is bolstered when you experience other places and culutres first hand. In a sense, experiencing other cultures helps us (cliché alert) improve ourselves. There are certain traditions and values that we can learn from cultures to make ourselves better people.

Simply put, I travel to discover new places, and in a sense, discover myself.

P.S. I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post.