For me, the motivation to travel is malleable- with each new destination, every minute passed, new lesson learned, travel molds me, and tells me who I am. But where/when/why did the travel bug first bite me?
Everything is big when you are small
My wanderlust took serious root when I was four or five. I grew up on a 2 acre plot of land that once housed a cattle farm, surrounded by mountains on all sides. To me, those mountains were the entire world, and I felt I had to walk every inch of them. I remember finding Indian Paint rocks (it was the 80s, so I could call them that), sketching primitive cave drawings like I imagined the Native Americans had before me. I remember finding new hiding places, a new stream, a giant boulder that I somehow managed to summit (probably 8 feet tall, but to 5 year old me, it was impressive). Each time I returned home, my discoveries remained sequestered to my personal stockpile of secrets.
Mount Wellington, Tasmania
I left the country for the first time when I was 16. Instead of a sweet birthday blowout, I opted for a trip to France, my grandmother’s home country. She was an amazing woman who told stories of her childhood over weekly dinners at her house, floating French words towards me as I gobbled flan. We visited her hometown of Fontainbleu, searched records for her family, visited her childhood home. Through lots of bread and cheese, I literally swallowed my heritage.
Saucisson in Honfleur, still one of my favorite places to visit in France (and full of favorite things to eat).
I left on my own when I was 18. My college institutes a “Field Work Term”, a 2 month immersion into the real world when you find a job, get out, and DO IT. I chose to work in a bilingual school in Paris, teaching English to native French/English/Other speakers. This was the first time in my life that I realized while words are important, there are so many more effective ways to communicate.
A pensive traveller, pondering his future (taken somewhere in the caribbean).
After that, I was hooked. I studied abroad in Australia, traveling more than studying, and learning so much more because of it. I went straight to work on a cruise ship after graduation, planning to stay for 4 months but staying for two years. Moving to Tokyo followed, for the sole purpose of having a different hub from which to explore.
Skydiving in Taupo, New Zealand
The “why” constantly changes. First, I went to learn more about a place. Then, I went to learn about myself. Then, to learn about people as a whole. Now, without having any idea about what I will learn. Of course, there are times when I want to just get away from it all…… when I want to gain 15 pounds over the span of a few days…. when I want to swim with the fishes. Travel has taught me that the only thing you learn is how little you really know.
White Pass Railway Summit
You can travel in your own country, your own state, your own 5-block radius. It is more of a state than a verb. Once you’ve caught the bug, you need to keep exploring, and I think that is a very good quality indeed.
