Why am I even doing this?

Today I am traveling. Because it is a little scary, I feel it is necessary to remind myself and also let you know why I like to travel.

Reasons to travel:

1. It makes you brave. 

I hate doing things on my own. I'm way introverted but not very independent. Traveling, especially by yourself, makes you take initiative. I have to find my gate all on my own at the airport (scary). And if I can't, I have to talk to someone I don't know (scarier). But when you do it once, it gets less scary. I'm kind of a pro at maneuvering airports by now. TSA lines don't bother me. I only feel slightly uncomfortable lugging my very full duffel and sort of full backpack through the terminal on my own. And I only cried a little when I said goodbye to my family.

2. You meet new people.

Like I said, talking to people I don't know is terrifying. But everyone was someone I didn't know before I met them. To quote Regina Spektor, "People are just people, they shouldn't make you nervous. People are just people like you." So that might be my mantra. With some time, strangers can become friends.

3. You see things that other people see all the time.

Driving through the Danish countryside, I realized that it doesn't look all that different from Wayne County. It was new to me, though, and it was DENMARK. There are people who drive through that countryside everyday. There are people who live in the beautiful Haitian mountains. There are people who walk by the Eiffel Tower everyday. These are staples in the background of real people's lives, and I think it's really cool that I get to see that, even if they are famous landmarks as well.

Basically to sum all this up, by traveling you get to expand your life. Meeting new people opens you up to new ideas and new experiences. Seeing new places reminds you that there is life outside of your home. And having to take care of yourself makes you grow up. So I think that's pretty cool.