Three ways traveling keeps me grounded and why I think everyone should travel.

A Humble Traveler

Over the past 3 years, traveling has become something I love and am truly passionate about. I am so privileged to be able to travel for my blog and explore new places and experience other cultures while doing so. Traveling internationally has been very special for me since my parents never took my sister and I outside of the United States other than a few family trips to Mexico. We would often travel to Hawaii, New York, and Florida for our family vacations, which were still amazing, and I loved seeing parts of the United States and cities along the Californian coast, but I always was curious to see what lies beyond the USA. At fourteen I visited Italy (Rome, Florence, & Tuscany) on a school trip and absolutely fell in love with my taste of European culture even during the most brutal winter weather. Later that year, I went to Fiji on a community service trip also for school. While in Nadi, I was able to visit a local school and village where I was fully immersed in Fijian culture. After returning home from that trip, I felt so humbled. I feel it is so important to see parts of the world that are not as developed as the United States. I remember how taken aback I was by the fact that they did not have infrastructure like the United States and it really opened my eyes to how big the world is.

Since I started my blog just over 1.5 years ago, I have had the opportunity to travel within the United States (Chicago, Florida, South Carolina, New York, Lake Tahoe) and then to the Bahamas, Mexico, Colombia, Israel, Germany all for work purposes. I feel it's necessary to see places that and cultures different than yours to possibly help you appreciate the lifestyle and culture you live in, as it does for me. I have become such a humble traveler and in doing so, I have definitely become more grounded at home. I wanted to share with you three ways traveling has made me feel more grounded:

1. Upon arriving to a new place, I open my eyes to everything, starting from when I step foot off of the plane. The people, the roads, the cars, the food, and the overall cleanliness. I find it so fascinating to see these things and have an open mind while doing so.

2. Immersing myself in the local culture is another thing I find crucial to experiencing a new place to the fullest. Whether that means trying the local cuisine, visiting a school or village, or even experiencing the nightlife, I think it is really important to get the total package.

3. Upon leaving, I reflect on my travels and can really appreciate all that I have experienced. It is a unique feeling and small sense of relief when I return to the United States and realize how fortunate I am for the life and and environment I live in. I really think I have to thank traveling for grounding me in that sense and I wouldn't understand the world the way in which I do without it.

If you can travel, do it! It does not matter how nice that hotel you stay in is or how expensive the food you are eating is. Although I may glamorize my trips on Instagram and through social media, and I am lucky enough to stay in beautiful hotels and eat at some pretty amazing places, I would be happy just to go somewhere new and try new things in the most economically feasible way.

Where do you want to travel to?