Ever since I left the country for the first time, I have been filled with an incurable wanderlust. I spend, admittedly, too much time planning out trips I want to take and looking at photos of places I want to visit. I have fallen in love with the world. I want to see everything, go everywhere, and I’m willing to work for it. 60+ hour work weeks when I’m home in the summer, working 7 days a week over winter break and being as frugal as possible has allowed me to go some pretty amazing places and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This isn’t something that everyone understands however. I still get comments like, “When are you going to settle down and make real money?” (ummm, since when are sophomores in college supposed to be settled down making real money??) or “You’re going to end up working at a factory job you hate for the rest of your life.” (Because interning and volunteering abroad are real resume killers, huh?). It can be so frustrating hearing comments like this, that’s why I decided to write this post. This is why I choose to travel.
Traveling. It’s dancing while the Eiffel Tower sparkles. Being surrounded by mountains and stars in Switzerland. Leaving a post it note in a milkshake shop in Annecy. Going out for late night gelato in Naples with new friends. Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Sparkling wine in Geneva. Conversations that matter in Rome. It’s getting lost in Paris. Not being able to find hostels. Water that makes you sick. Fixing broken hostel beds. Eating Nutella and jam for every meal. Almost missing flights. Being approached by sketchy men. It’s getting on metros even though you aren’t sure it’s going where you need to be. Jumping in the water even though you can see fish. Continuing to climb higher in the Alps despite being terrified. Relying on the help of strangers. Trusting the magic of the adventure and believing that it will all work out.
I choose to travel because I’m 19, young and fearless. The vision I have for my life is uncontrollable laughter in European cafes, building schools in developing countries, whitewater rafting in New Zealand, photographing the 7 wonders of the world, strangers becoming friends everywhere I go, positively impacting the world as I travel it. It’s a vision that I’m willing to work for, that I’m willing to fight for, and that I’m passionate about.
One of my favorite Brett Eldredge songs, Wanna be That Song, has the lines:
“When you’re searching the horizon
When your eyes look back
When you’re standing in the moment
Every life has a soundtrack.”
When I look back on my life I want the soundtrack to be the sound of every ocean and the shrieking laughter of jumping in, the bustling noises of big cities and the quiet that comes along with stargazing. I want to hear the meaningful conversations had with friends and strangers alike. I want my life’s soundtrack to be vibrant and colorful and alive. Traveling does this. My life changed the first time I left the country. I came back with more purpose, more meaning, more joy. It was on that trip that I realized how incredible this world is and how incredible my life could be if I saw it.
Every time I come back from a trip I’m a little different, my life has changed in some small way. Traveling has made me more compassionate, confident, independent. It has made me brave and adventurous. I have learned about the beauty of simplicity (living out of a 45L backpack will do that to ya) and how to go with the flow. I have gained some beautiful stories and priceless memories from around the world. My life is richer from the friends I’ve made and experiences I’ve had.
When people talk about a bright future, they are generally talking about getting a good paying 9-5 job after college but I’ve realized that’s not what I want. What I’m looking for in this life can’t be found behind the confines of a desk. It can be found on mountain tops, in jungles, on quiet park benches. It can be seen in sunsets and sunrises, in the faces of the people met on the road. It can be heard in the crashing of waves and the chatter of languages I don’t understand. It can be felt in the sparkling night air of a foreign city. To some this might sound unrealistic or irresponsible or dumb but I’m looking for meaning not money, so I choose to travel.
Why do you travel?
Hugs,
Elisabeth
