5 Reasons to Travel

[I will follow up next week on this post with “5 Reasons Not to Travel;” I figured I’d begin on a positive note.]

It’s like everyone travels these days. There are a billion travel blogs; a billion travel agents or booking sites trying to offer some special deal on hotels, flights, or vacation; a billion exotic photos flooding Instagram. And they are all trying to WOW you into submission.  It can be rather overwhelming for the inexperienced traveler. Or jealousy-inducing for those without deep pockets. Or disillusioning for experienced travelers who suddenly realize their totally awesome adventure is not so unique after all (a clear sign of our extreme individualism…don’t worry, I’m right there with you).

Millennials are changing the landscape of modern vacations. They are traveling significantly more than their parents and grandparents, and they’re letting everyone know about it. Of course, I’m simply adding to the travel blog noise, but today I wanted to take it back to the basics. Why is traveling important? Because it is important. But not always for the reasons advertised. Here are five (there are plenty more) of my favorite reasons for traveling.

1) Cultural awareness/sensitivity

Thinking of engaging other cultures can sound so exotic and international. But different cultures exist even within one’s own country. There’s an urban culture versus a rural culture. In the United States there’s a West Coast culture, an East Coast culture, a Southern culture, a Midwest culture, and I’m pretty sure Texas is its own country and culture.

Interacting with people of other cultures gives us the ability to empathize and understand and treat others as human beings (even when we don’t always agree on every ideology or cultural value). Plus, interacting with other cultures means trying new food! Yum!

2) Active living

This isn’t always a reality, but those who travel are often living more actively. They’re biking around new cities. They’re hiking in the outdoors or perhaps along the village-connecting trails of Cinque Terre. They’re taking tours of castles or museums or zoos. They’re swimming in the ocean. They’re white water rafting. I guess what I’m trying to say is TRAVELLING SAVES LIVES (that’s not a stretch, is it?).

3) Activism

This is a touchy issue, and I’m going to address the dangers of this in more detail next week. However, visiting war-torn or impoverished areas (seeing these places in person) is often the impetus to support important causes like clean water, curable diseases, malnutrition, etc. For those who have grown up in a comfort bubble, travel can be the remedy to live awake to the stark realities of the world.

4) Self-discovery

This is one of my favorite and an idea I’d like to develop further in the future. Though modern travel is a bit of a phenomena, journeying for self-discovery is quite ancient. Pilgrimages such as El Camino de Santiago in Spain or the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca are ancient. Silence and solitude have been strong monastic disciplines for hundreds of years. Travel can help you know yourself.

5) Fun!

Lastly, travel is fun. Sometimes, we don’t need any better reason than to have fun. Seeing new places invokes a sense of wonder and imagination. When I first backpacked through Europe, the fairy tales that I adored were coming to life in their natural habitat. For me, that was so much fun!

I hope you’ve enjoyed some of this list. Can you think of any other important reasons for travel? I’d love to hear them in the comments below.