Why Others Don’t Travel

I was having a discussion today with one of my closest friends. He and I are practically brother and sister and we have quite a bit in common, except the topic of traveling. I, an avid traveler who would love nothing more than to spend my days traveling and seeing as much of the world as humanly possible, cannot understand why others simply express disgust when mentioning the word “travel.”


He and his family have lived in numerous states across the country; however, he has absolutely fallen in love with the state of Arkansas. Spending much of his teen years here, he has grown quite close to many of his friends and looks forward to coming back “home” whenever he can. He believes that there is nothing to see that is worth seeing unless it is within the Arkansas state lines.

Don’t get me wrong, Arkansas is a beautiful state. Yes, we have portions that are nothing but flatlands and old cotton fields, but the northwest portion of the state especially, it has hills, beautiful land, and not to mention, three of the biggest businesses in the world; Tyson, Wal-Mart, and J.B. Hunt Trucking. There is a lot to love about Arkansas, but having grown up in this great state all of my life, a girl needs to get out and see the world.

His argument to me was, “how can you go and appreciate the places of the world if you don’t understand and appreciate your own.” I can answer that…I took Arkansas history my 8th grade year, I’ve grown up in Arkansas my whole life, I have traveled to many areas within my state, and after all of that, I can say 100% that I appreciate where I come from and understand that it really is a great place to live. HOWEVER, I also know there is a bigger world out there and it’s just waiting for me to come see all of it.

After talking with my friend, I started thinking though….why don’t other people like to travel? Is it because they are scared? Are they too comfortable where they are that the thought of actually planning a trip is exhausting? Are they scared of what they might encounter or find on their travels? Or are they just too close-minded to believe that there is anything worth seeing that lies outside their comfort zone?

I have always told myself that whoever I marry or end up with in life, they must enjoy traveling. It is one of my few pieces of criteria that I look for in the opposite sex. I don’t require much, just that you love traveling. As far as I am concerned, life isn’t worth living if you don’t have God, family, friends, pets, and a need to travel.