The Power of Travel
We all know that traveling is my thing. I love adventures. I love seeing the different things and people that this world has to offer. In my almost 18 years of life, I have seen SO MANY places, things, ideas, and people. Growing up, my mom would ask my siblings and I to go on trips with her. She would ask us to go places like Washington DC to see the history or New York City only to see the 911 remembrance instead of going shopping or on Broadway. We always told her that it sounded boring and that we were not going. Little did we know that shopping and doing the "fun" stuff would not even compare to learning the history of a place. When I went on my trip overseas, I could not even tell you what I bought when I went shopping, but I could tell you hundreds of things that I learned there. I learned about some of the most powerful people from the past, saw the Crown Jewels that are worth millions of dollars, walked on some of the most beautiful landscape that I have ever seen. I learned about people that come from a completely different background than me. I met a family that relies on goats to get their necessities. One of our tour guides literally thought that Arkansas was pronounced "Ar-kansas." It was crazy to see how our "normal" is out of another person's comfort zone. We are used to coming home to an air conditioned home while places in Scotland (homes, restaurants, hotels, stores) rarely have air conditioners. We see homeless people on the side of the road with signs every once in a while, but they are one every corner in England. Most of us drink our beverages with ice while I did not see a single cube of ice my entire trip, even in the air ports. When I left for my trip, I was excited to ride in a plane, to shop in another country, and get out of Arkansas. I was traveling for all of the wrong reasons. My mom and I both agreed that after my trip, I came back a different person. I had a different view on life, and I saw things differently from before. Instead of going shopping on the weekends, I try to go and try something out of my comfort zone. All in all, I believe that traveling can change someone's life!
It is so cool to see the difference between you and me. My family rarely travels at all. I have been to the beach one time in my entire life, never went anywhere else on vacation other than six flags. I would love to travel and see some of the things you have. The only time I went to the beach, I was amazed by the views I could see at sunrise from the balcony. Hope you stay safe traveling and don't get sick!
ReplyDeleteGage Crews
I don't get to travel as much as I want to, but it's so cool how you've got to experience all those places. I think it's really cool to go and learn the history of different places. It sort of brings us together in a way. It can also change us and give us more of an open mind. I hope I can travel more and get out of my comfort zone too. - Grace Anne
ReplyDeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that you have had so many opportunities to travel! The fact that you use your travels as learning experiences is even more awesome. Recently, I went to St. Thomas. St. Thomas is a poor country, but its people are so happy to simply be alive. To see the way they lived had a huge impact on me. It showed me to value the small things in life. I hope that I am blessed enough to continue traveling!
- Alexis Butler
Eli: I think it's awesome to see all of the places you have gone. It's always neat to see the differences between everybody. For myself I've only been to the beach 3 times and gone through Texas twice and stayed in New Mexico for a while.
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