Travel Is For Everyone
When people ask me what I’m currently up to and I tell them that I’m currently traveling for a year, they immediately ask if I won the lottery. So annoyed am I with this response that I have purposely started to come up with ridiculous answers to their question. My favorite thus far, spy.
I love to travel. I have made the choice to make it the highest priority at this point in my life.
What I did not do is make buying a new car my priority. Buying a new suit, TV, or getting court side seats to a sports game also fell by the way side. And there’s nothing wrong with people who have made these their priority.
So why then are people so astonished of the fact that I have chosen to see the world rather than view it from a very large LCD screen? This has baffled me to no end.
Has travel been pushed so far into the realm of the esoteric that the majority of my family, friends and peers believe it to be so out of the norm that the only way they can process the information is that if I won my plane ticket in some form or fashion.
It is disconcerting to me that travel is now perceived as something so far out of reach that it is only reserved for the rich. For the record, I am not rich, I have not won the lottery nor am I a trust fund child. Heck, I don’t even see myself as anything special.
The only thing that I can think of that would set me apart is that a) I know what I want and b) I am willing to make compromises to get what I want.
I know that I want to travel and I am willing to sacrifice certain things (money, comfort, lifestyle) to travel. Can others say the same? Not just about travel, but in any of their pursuits?
So when people tell me that they would love to travel, but don’t have the time or money to do so, I don’t think it’s about the resources they have at their disposal, but in their commitment to travel.
The truth is that, barring any legal restrictions, anyone can travel. Everyone should travel. It’s easier than they think. The real question is how high is it on their priority list.
