Everyone has a unique set of values that they hold sacred, and these values make up the core of a person. One of my core values is authenticity. It’s the paramount quality I search for in those I bring into my life, and oftentimes others’ inauthenticity causes me to distance myself from them. Looking back at my last blog post and its stats, I wondered why didn’t this one do as well as the others? After some time, I realized that I wasn’t passionate about my last post, and the style in which I wrote reflected that.

Now that I’ve discovered this, I’m gonna try to keep it extra real on here, because I think that’s what makes a blog interesting to read. Maybe it’s easier to blog about clothes because nobody can dislike you for your opinion on them, but it’s more worthwhile to write about a topic that you care about, even if people are more likely to judge you for it.

 

I care about travel and I enjoy contemplating the deeper meaning of simple choices, so here is why I think traveling is important on a philosophical level.

Because you learn to adapt to change and accept others. In another country, you become the minority, and this allows you to experience a tiny dose of the vulnerability that foreigners feel when they come to your country knowing nothing of how to assimilate with your culture. Experiencing the role of the minority temporarily removes the power that you feel so entitled to as a member of the majority in your home country.

Because if God doesn’t exist, at least you had your fun. And if he does exist, you had your fun without hurting anyone. I’m always hesitant to share my beliefs about religion with others because it is one of the few areas of my life that I don’t really have all figured out. Anyways, what I’m trying to say with this point is that traveling is a way to genuinely enjoy life without drugs, fornication, gluttony or any other “sinful” behaviors. Whether or not you believe in religion, you might as well avoid sin just in case there ends up being some kind of moral judgment-day for you.

Because it makes you realize how small you and your problems are, but it also reveals to you that you are in yourself living, yet you are also part of a larger living organism, like the concept of organs (don’t you remember freshman biology? Cells make up tissues, tissues make up organs, etc.). Similarly, you and your community contribute to making up the world at large. So basically, your direct role in the world is small, but you indirectly impact the world more than you’re aware of. Here’s a diagram:

Hmmm…I wonder if I’m the first person to use the Organ System as an analogy for a human’s role in the world.

Because you Meet People. I think most people have contemplated the idea of how every other person on Earth has had a life as intricate as their own. Traveling, or just even stepping out into the world, allows you to meet these people and learn about them and learn from them. You don’t have to make all your own mistakes if you can learn from people who have made them for you.

 

Because you don’t risk putting off until tomorrow what should be done today. There is absolutely a chance that you will die tomorrow. There’s also almost a guarantee that you will die before you are ready. It’s irresponsible to live a life devoid of enjoyment when you don’t know when it could end because if you end up not having as much time as you accounted for, you will have spent your time on things that did not matter to you. Do yourself a favor revel in the fleeting time of today.

Until Next Time,

Morgan