A French born American diarist, Anais Nin said, “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” Traveling is a way to see all the beauty in this world, whether it be people, culture, or even just scenery. Sometimes we get so caught up in our technology, in our safe space, we forget to really understand the beauty of what surrounds us. 

Traveling the world can help us expand our horizons as well as our knowledge. 

Experiencing new cultures can be very eye opening for some. Seeing how people do things differently, even the most basic of things, can be shocking!

Where you experience a new culture, you meet new people. As nerve wrecking as that might sound, it can be very refreshing talking to people from a different background. Listening to how others think so differently or similarly about certain things could be fairly surprising. Joy Shim, a junior at GBS, believes that traveling could be really impotent for a person. It could be a great way to spend time with family and friends and even meet new people! She also believes it can be inspiring seeing the unique cultures and way of life of others. Her favorite place to visit was Cancun, Mexico, the hot weather and the difference of environment was extremely “exotic and fresh”. It was a very new experience for her since she doesn’t know how to speak Spanish! Another eye opening experience was seeing how normal poverty on the streets was, it made her realize that she has a lot to be thankful for! Joy would definitely recommend others to travel there to get a change in atmosphere and practice and new language maybe!

Traveling leads to curiosity. Curiosity leads to exploration. Exploring the unknown for a person can be life changing. Every small thing or event or scenery can change the way you perceive life.

Mbauniverse states, “The traveling not only helps one to gain knowledge, generate ideas and earn experiential learning, it helps mankind tremendously in reaching out to unexplored destinations, expanding business arena, learn cross country culture and civilizations.”  Whether it be standing on top of a mountain peak or touring a city, it help you discover who you truly are as a person. The unique experiences can help to shape you as a person. It helps you grow as a person, it makes you wiser and more understanding to the world and the people around you. 

While there are other critics who believe that traveling isn’t really necessary, that there are other ways to learn about a new culture or a new place. But what they don’t realize is that learning about these places and people through social media does not do it justice. Experience can provide a more authentic and realistic view of the way of life that is much different than your own. 

Lifehack.org states, “And it is a good thing, because it will help you grow as a person.” Traveling can help set you mentally free. It gives you such an astonishing point of view about how this world we live in works. It can help you grow spiritually and intellectually. It can help you realize that not everyone has the same life, the same story. 

Exploring the world can help you clearly see the beauty of nature. It’s an “escape from the commercialized world.” We see the pictures online and on social media but realize the actual beauty until you do it for yourself. Nafeesa Khan, a junior and GBS, says her favorite place to visit was Spain. One thing she found shocking over there was the Islamic influence on the “architecture and culture”. The biggest churches like, The Great Mosque at Cordoba, were reconstructed and covered up to be a cathedral.

Overall, traveling is an aspect of life that should be given more attention. We are so caught up in our technological world, we forget to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Traveling helps us realize that. It helps us understand that not everyone and everything has the same story.