The Perks of Traveling

Can you think of a better way to experience life than traveling to parts of the world you’ve never laid eyes on before? Exploring different cultures, encountering new people, enjoying beautiful scenery; what’s not to love? Whether by bus, by car, or by plane, traveling is a surefire way to refresh people’s minds with new ideas, while also educating people about the world as a whole. Most of all, however, it’s a way to have fun. If everyone took small vacations to various places once in a while, the world would be a happier place. That’s why I see summer vacations as another opportunity to travel somewhere new and interesting every year. The places my family and I journey to are normally located at least a few states away, and unfortunately, we rarely use air travel as our source of transportation. Since my parents aren’t too fond of the idea of spending several hours pilgrimaging with sketchy strangers, we are left with the only option of traveling by car. This means keeping the same sitting position for possibly 14 hours at a time, leaving us plenty of opportunity to enjoy the millions of trees that pass by our window. Just kidding, of course. My sister and I have pretty much programmed ourselves to sleep for hours during car trips. It makes the time go by faster before we reach our next destination, while also preventing our repeated use of “are we there yet?”

I believe it was 2006 when my family and I drove to South Dakota and Wyoming for vacation. We spent our nights there in a little log cabin right underneath Devil’s Tower, an 865-foot rock monument in Wyoming. I remember how big and bright the stars were that night, and I was completely awe-inspired when I looked up at the towering structure above us with climbers who had actually camped out on Devil’s Tower. I remember thinking, “You know, someday I want to climb that thing.” Although, I’m not sure how well that would work out with my fear of heights. A couple of nights later we found ourselves in South Dakota, gazing at yet another huge monument with four heads, Mt. Rushmore. While we were there, I discovered that the Teddy Bear actually got its name from Theodore Roosevelt, causing me to extend my list of favorite presidents.

Devil’s Tower and Mt. Rushmore were two experiences that I’ll never forget, but my favorite vacation spot by far is Walt Disney World, considering we’ve spent at least 12 vacations there. Believe it or not, my favorite memories from our Disney vacations always involves us becoming drenched in the pouring rain. If you’ve ever been in Disney while it’s raining, you’d understand how exciting it is. All of the sidewalks in the amusement park immediately become empty, while the stores fill up with rain-soaked people. Once in awhile you’ll see a brave family dashing through puddles in order to get on a ride, but other than that, Disney looks like a ghost town. It is so much different than their usual crowded days, and it’s pretty cool to see Magic Kingdom without people traffic blocking the streets.

I remember thinking, “You know, someday I want to climb that thing.”

Perhaps my most favorite memory was the time when my mom, stepdad, sister, and I realized we had a dinner reservation coming up at The Crystal Palace, right when the rain started coming down. So with our newly soaked socks and our matching bright Mickey Mouse ponchos flailing behind us, we raced as fast as we possibly could through the Magic Kingdom to arrive at the restaurant just in time. Reliving these types of childhood memories is what makes Walt Disney World my family’s favorite vacation location.

There are several reasons why traveling is extremely crucial to a truly fulfilling life, including the entertaining memories and experiences involved. While being both educational and entertaining, journeying to unfamiliar places can spice up a life enough from a usual, boring, daily routine. I plan to continue traveling all around the world, someday experiencing everything from the Amazon Rainforest to the bustling streets of Tokyo, Japan. My life goal is to visit all 196 countries in the world at least once, and since I’ve already lived in Italy and the United States, I only need to check off 194 more countries off of my list. If this goal shows to be impossible, then I’d settle for visiting all 50 states in America. In order to experience totally different cultures, however, I would love to visit as many countries on Earth as I possibly can. We only have one inhabitable planet, and to experience Earth in its entirety by traveling to its every nook and cranny is a great way to live life to the fullest.