Half a Million Pounds of Metal
Why Travel Excites Me
I’m only 17. Naturally, I haven’t traveled as much as most people. Yet, in the past few months, I’ve had the chance to go to New York, Hawaii, Chicago, Penn, Michigan, Duke, and back and forth to Pasadena from SF and SJC. They’ve been some of the best months of my life, and precisely because of the travel.
It’s actually crazy to think about, and too easy to take for granted. You’re traveling thousands of feet above ground in a half a million pound metal box. How can that ever be routine? How can that ever be a drag (excuse the pun)? Travel, in and of itself, is something to appreciate. The experience of traveling is a function of how you approach it. Here’s how I’ve learned to make the most of my mini-adventures, and what I’ve picked up along the way.
- Look left, look right. I always find it surprising how many interesting people you can find sitting in the seat next to you, whether sitting at the airport gate or cruising at 40,000 feet. People will never fail to surprise you. I often find that I’ll form a theory about the person next to me, and I’ll be wrong every time. Think the person next to you works at a big tech company? He’ll be the owner of a small mom-and-pop. Think the person next to you is a hipster graphic designer from the way she dresses? She’ll be a school teacher who’s getting away for a while. Uncovering people gives a whole new meaning to not judging a book by its cover. Just talking to the two people next to you on a flight will give you so many stories to carry on— so many stories to tell.
- Ask Away. Always ask questions, and never settle for a generic introduction. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, especially if you show interest. That’s how you start a conversation- that’s how you form a connection. Surprisingly, most people open up very quickly and will even tell you about the most personal things— I’ve heard about recent break-ups, workplace issues, family problems and a whole spectrum of things. Sometimes it’s entertaining, sometimes it’s heart-warming, and sometimes it’s gut-wrenching. Yet, with each person there’s so much depth and so much to explore. Out of the 7 billion people in this world, each unique, each complex, connecting with two seems like so insignificant a feat. Nevertheless, there are those passengers who will go an entire flight without ever murmuring a word. It’s too big of a world for that.
- Go out of your way to be a Misfit. For example, what you wear matters. A lot. Sounds trivial and insignificant right? Not at all. If you wear a checkered shirt and jeans, you’re just another face in the crowd. Try wearing something that represents you. Whenever I’ve worn a Caltech or a hackathon tee, for example, more people will be willing to start conversations. That’s your end goal here. You want to talk to the crowd. You want to get to know people. Traveling is all about the people you meet, especially the ones you’ve never met before.
Enough about airplanes and crowds. Once you get to your destination, you’ll have lots to do, whether its pleasure or work. I’ve learned that there’s an approach that works great for every new place.
- Go Native. Don’t go to Hawaii and eat Subway. Don’t go to a college town and visit a museum. The goal is to really immerse yourself in the character of the place. This is where you should ditch Yelp or TripAdvisor. Sure, they may help from time to time, but learn to ask people who already live there. If you’re at a college town, ask around for the best dirt cheap eateries and for the best night hikes that students go on. If you’re in Chicago, ask the locals for the best Chicago-style pizza they’ve ever eaten. People are passionate about where they live- exploit that passion and use it to make your trip that much better.
- Plan memories, not events. It always works out better when you have things in mind you want to experience, not specific things you want to do. Don’t go to Niagra Falls thinking you want to take a specific tour or boat ride— you go to Niagra Falls thinking you want to experience the awe of natural beauty. Go to places like New York for the rush of a crowd or for the magic of the city life, and not for a specific museum or event. Don’t let anything stop you from creating the memories you want. Memories come from feelings, not things.
- Throw away the camera. Pictures are nice until they stop you from being in the moment. As soon as that happens, you lose the magic and the memory is immediately worthless. You can’t re-live something you never felt. Be careful with cameras,and know that the very special moments are unforgettable anyways. Pixels can’t record the large majority of the things that are worth recording.
Every new face you see is a story waiting to be told. Every new place is a memory waiting to be remembered.
Taken the right way, travel is nothing short of a miracle.
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