I was having a conversation with my roommate last night about traveling and her experiences. She came up with some interesting points that I happen to agree with. We both think it is crucial to branch out and travel, even if that just means venturing to a neighboring state or nearby city. It’s important to explore places beyond your comfortable hometown, even if the little town you call home is actually a major city. Travelling expands a person’s view of the world, society, and culture around them. Even if you do not travel out of the United States, there are still many places that can have a big impact on the rest of your life.
My roommate told me that one of her pet peeves is, when people try and act superior because they have not travelled outside of the state that they live in. To her, this is wildly irksome because you learn so much about yourself when you travel. It’s one thing to receive a postcard of the Grand Canyon, but another to actually be standing at the edge of it. In some ways, she feels sorry for the people who are too frightened to wander because it holds them back as individuals; they remain forever rooted, unable to spread and grow by experiencing some of the many cultures around them. This is not limited to domestic travel, of course, but I think that the U.S. provides a unique example because you do not have to leave the country to experience something completely different from what you are used to.
The two of us also think that some of our best anecdotes come from the stories you get when you travel. Like how she and her family almost froze to death when they went camping in the Grand Canyon because they thought that the desert was hot all the time. Or when the massive charter bus I took on a trip to Washington D.C. made an illegal U-turn in the middle of a busy intersection that was also under construction.
But the bottom line is that if you want random, potentially life-threatening, and hilarious (at least in hindsight) stories and experiences, then you have to travel, because you are not going to get it by sitting in your house all day.
Zander Myers is a senior studying English. Email her at am154312@ohio.edu.
