Tuesday, March 15, 2011

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.

7 comments:

Jet-Setting Divas said...

I really don't understand why people don't travel! I know my mom and one of my best friends are deathly afraid of international travel! You never know what else is out there until you travel!
-tiffanie

iuli said...

Agree agree agree. I live in Minnesota, which does have it's nice aspects, but there are A LOT of people here whose idea of travel is going "up north". I think this is a Minnesota/Wisconsin thing. Everyone has cabins up north and that is there idea of a vacation - going to said cabin for an extended stay. Wow. That's so not traveling! Love the final paragraph too, because I am the same way. This past year I did online dating and one of my requirements was "must own passport (and use it)". Surprised how many guys I met whose idea of travel was the family cabin 5 hours away. Or possibly the occasional out of state hunting/fishing trip. Sigh.

Meri said...

I am from MN too, and while I like to go to my parents cabin as a vacation sometimes, I certainly couldn't have that replace more international/ national travel!

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Anonymous said...

I find it mind boggling! I love nothing more than going to places I have read about or seen on tv, and just exploring and being in a new surrounding. I always get the argument "NY is the melting pot, want Italian food, go to Little Italy." No, its not the same.

Did you see that article that states about only 30% of Americans own passports? 70% of America is surely missing out.

Nik said...

I'd totally travel if I had the money!! I love road trips, but I have to have a little more monetary security if I am going to travel outside the country!!!

Traveler24 said...

LOL I hear ya Nik...I need some serious dough to do the kind of traveling I want to do! :)

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