Why I Travel

Written by Kyle and Bessie . Feelin' thoughtful
Kyle_thoughtful
So, Bessie and I tend to get a lot of How questions: "How are you going to get from A to B?", "How are you going to access your money", etc. but surprisingly, we don't get a lot of Why questions.  How questions can typically be answered very objectively and very clearly, but I don't think they'll give you a very good idea of our experiences while we are traveling.  Not that the Hows aren't important, but they're just not as insightful as to who we are and our motivations.

This post is here to give you a little sense of why we are doing this, instead of, say, buying a condo or "settling down" to start a family (which seem to be our other two options, according to an informal survey of myself).  Without further ado, here are the reasons why I travel:

    1.    It's how I want to spend my time.

        It sounds completely obvious, but I'm sometimes surprised by how many people spend their time doing things they don't want to do.  Of course, I'm not saying that people should never do laundry or clean their bathroom just because they don't want to do it, but I am saying that people should be wiser with how they spend their time.  The fact is that we all have a finite amount of time and we should spend it wisely while we can.  

        Let's pretend that when you are born, you start out with a finite amount of money that you can spend in your lifetime; you can't make money but when you run out, you're done and can't spend anymore.  Now imagine how you would spend that money over a lifetime.  I'm guessing you would spend your money much more wisely and only buy the things that you really wanted.

    Now substitute money for time.  How are you going to spend your time now?  I would choose traveling.  What would you choose?

    2.    I want to learn.

    There is a lot of thought that traveling = vacation.  I believe that vacation is a break from reality, where you don't have to think about anything but relaxing and having fun.  Traveling, on the other hand, requires a lot of thinking, problem solving, and quite often, a lot of hard work.  Via traveling, I hope to learn a lot of things: languages (Spanish), customs, bargaining skills, problem solving skills (I'm sure we will be lost more than once), relationship skills (not getting mad at each other when we are lost), and many other things that I probably can't imagine right now.  I am going to be active, engaged, and open and by being this way, I will learn more than I can in a book or a classroom.

    3.    I want to be more.

    Over the years and due to my computer programming job, I've been pigeon-holed into a "computer guy" and subject to all of the stereotypes that come along with it.  Admittedly, some of the stereotype fits me, but I also think that there are many other things that I can do that people don't give me credit for.  This trip will allow me to explore those other skills that I think I can do well (e.g. writing).  Without the four walls of a cubicle, I feel like there is an endless horizon of opportunities to explore.

    4.    I'm young and able.

    For some reason, people tend to put off traveling until retirement.  It's not a bad idea, per se, but let's face it, the body is not the same once you reach retirement age as it is when you are, say 28.  At 28, I know my body can handle a lot more and consequently, I can do a lot more things now than I will be able to do when I'm retired.  I don't know if I want to cram myself in a chicken bus, then wake up the next morning and climb a volcano when I'm retired.  At my age now, it seems exciting!

    Also, I know that once I have kids, it is going to be really hard to do anything like this.  People have, but they have way more patience than I do.  

    5.    I want to spend time with my wife.

    Yes, I know that it's corny and I've now completely lost all my street cred, but how many people get to spend a lot of quality time with their spouse?  (I'm sure there are those who don't want to, but that's something else)  Again, I don't want to wait until we're both retired, I want to spend time with Bessie while we are young and able.  It will also build up our relationship much faster than if we were to take a conventional path.  I think after dealing with each other every day for a year and dealing with all the problems that the road has to throw at us, we will be in excellent shape.  

    Also, I love her.  Who doesn't want to spend more time with the people they love?

Why I Travel

Written by Kyle and Bessie . Feelin' thoughtful
Bessie_thoughtful
Kyle got me a little teary-eyed on that last one.  You shouldn't need a tissue for mine.  Ditto what he said, but I wanted to mention a little more.

  • Carpe Diem. 
Seize the day really means a lot to me.  Like Kyle said it, I see time as being spent like money.  You only get so much, and you choose how and where you'll spend it. Friends, family, giving to others, and being silly usually top my list, but taking time to grow as a person is invaluable.  I believe in dreaming big and empowering yourself, because you never know what great things you can accomplish.

  • Trying new things
I love adventures and testing my boundaries.  Mom, Dad, other parent types and concerned loved ones, not to worry, we do this with reason.  We were crazy enough to put lasers in our eyes and jump out of an airplane, but we swear, these are calculated risks.  

I love waking up the first day in a new place when you arrive after dark and opening the shades is like unwrapping a beautiful world to explore filled with new people to meet, food to eat, and new paths for my feet.

  • Being an ambassador
It bothers me to no end that the majority of the world regards Americans in a negative light.  We're not all embodied by the policies of our government, the actions of corporations, and people don't hate me for saying it, but the television we export.   There's more to our society that should be relayed.  

Kyle and I will not travel with Canadian flags on our bags, but yet we will travel as Americans.  We're not going to boast our nationalities in a manner that might make us targets, but I will be open that our values of caring for others, learning about other cultures and being responsible and respectful travelers also make us Americans, and we know many that share our values.  

Also, I'm excited to share our experiences with anyone who'll read it and look at our pictures.  Please, live vicariously through us.

  • Doing good.
Sure I can do this back home, but I know the talents Kyle and I possess can make the world a better place, and I'm ready.  Along the lines of being an ambassador, I hope our travels make the world a smaller place and beyond educating ourselves about the cultures we encounter, I hope to leave a piece of us with the locals we meet.  We'll spread the word that Chicagoans aren't all Al Capone-esque gangsters and that many American really care about the rest of the world.

Plain and simple: I'm out to do good.  I want to feel the poverty of the places we travel.  I want to more deeply understand how poor education and lack of healthcare really affect the development of societies.  I want to see the way people face challenges with their governments, with crime, with tourism, with struggling to survive, and I want to do something about it.  I want to help.  


Adventures ahoy!

16 Comments

Don't be shy, tell us "hi"

Leave a Reply





Note: All HTML will be removed, including links