I was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana. Nothing has made me appreciate and love my hometown more than being away from it, but when I was fourteen, I sought a change of scenery. If Mary-Kate and Ashley could see the world, so could I. My first time travelling outside the United States, I explored Australia and New Zealand on a trip arranged by the People to People Student Ambassador Program whose motto is to "promote peace through understanding." Those twenty days in the summer of 2005 filled me with curiosity, courage, and consciousness, which are-in my opinion-the three main reasons travel is an indispensable life experience.
Curiosity.
While sightseeing in Rome on my honeymoon, I observed a father explaining to his son that Romans used to fill the Colosseum with water to simulate sea battles. The boy immediately questioned the logistics of it and as my husband and I walked past, I could hear his dad trying to satisfy the child's thirst for more knowledge. I have found that travel incites enthusiasm and interest. I could have read every guidebook there is about London, but now that I live there I have so many questions that can only be answered by experience. Curiosity, the desire to learn more about something, is a powerful tool for exercising the mind.
Courage.
Travel has made me a more courageous person by exposing me to challenges away from the safety net of home. When you can't lean on others for help because they are thousands of miles away, you are forced to face fears and solve problems on your own. In other words, travellers learn how to take risks. I asked some of my well-travelled friends if travel has made them more courageous. "I think it has, but I've definitely struggled with anxiety and doubts along the way... In the end, I'm really glad I took the risks and had the experiences." The risks and experiences powered by courage are as trivial as eating black risotto (a dish made with cuttlefish ink), as trying as overcoming language barriers, and as life-altering as pushing through social anxieties.
Consciousness.
It seems like every other week, my Facebook feed is filled with another awareness campaign. Thanks to social media, lots more people are educated on topics ranging from advertising's effects on body image to the importance for women to get regular mammograms. Personally, however, I must say that an online campaign can never compare to experience. I found that helping a friend struggling with anorexia and seeing a loved one blindsided by breast cancer made me much more conscious of the aforementioned causes.
Sitting on a park bench in Istanbul, my husband and I noticed two little girls wearing dirt-coated dresses playing in a fountain. They saw me taking a photograph of a statue and mimed that they wanted me to take a picture of them; the girls grabbed at me, my camera, my glasses, and when I resisted they began asking for money. I apologetically declined. Later, when my husband and I started walking away, we looked back towards the fountain and saw the little girls were playing again - one posed and the other pretended to take a photo. I decided to return to give each girl a lira and let them each strike a pose for my DSLR. My nieces probably play the same game with their mom's iPhone.
After my experience with the child beggars, I did some research and learned about the "beggar mafia." If you've seen the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, you may be familiar with the horrific conditions these children endure. Ferhat Şahin, vice chairman of the Children of Hope Association and former child beggar, said, “Donors should not give anything to child beggars -- neither money nor something to eat because it urges those who use children as a means of making a living to send more children onto the streets. It urges them to believe that children are an easy way to earn money." My experience in Istanbul made me more aware of an issue. Consciousness may seem insignificant compared to action, but the deep understanding we earn from experience impacts our every decision. President Eisenhower's vision for the People to People program was to create global citizens who seek understanding. He believed this consciousness would break down barriers and promote peace.
TLDR
Why travel?
Travel to become smarter. Active minds are fuelled by curiosity.
Travel to achieve more. Bold choices are fuelled by courage.
Travel to make the world a better place. Peace is fuelled by understanding.
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| 14-year-old me in Sydney, Australia. 2005. |
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| 23-year-old me in Rome, Italy. 2014. |
