And there are so many underlying questions that go along with it: What about your career? And retirement? Do you want kids? How do you ignore societal expectations? What about everything you’re missing back home? What do you miss back home? What anxieties and fears do you have? How do you push past them? Do you have a backup plan? The list could and does go on and on.

There is a time and place for those questions, but if I tried to tackle them all in one go, I might as well write a book (there’s an idea). Today I’ll focus primarily on the big one. Why do I travel?

Since 2022, when I first started truly exploring the world on my own, my answer has changed. In hindsight, my early travels were a means of escape. They came out of desperation, and a need to run away. From a career that was ruining me. From emotions I didn’t know how to deal with. From problems I didn’t want to face. From internal battles with anxiety and depression and addiction that I should have known would follow me to every corner of the world. I traveled for the wrong reasons. But I believe that moving is always better than thinking, and in starting before you know how, so traveling for the wrong reasons is still better than not traveling at all.

I travel because I have no idea what to do with my life. I would describe myself as lost in many ways. But I’ve decided that if I’m going to be lost in life, I might as well do some cool shit as I’m trying to figure the rest out. And I have. I’ve solo-hiked in the Himalayas, summitted a mountain that was almost 20,000 feet above sea level, and swam in alpine lakes that were over 13,000 feet in the air. I’ve learned to surf and scuba dive and rode motorbikes thousands of miles through dense cities and remote mountain and jungle roads. I’ve met people of all shapes and sizes and colors and backgrounds and have friends scattered around the world. I’ve fallen in love just about a million times. I’ve broken bread and sipped beers with people who I can only communicate with via hand signals, smiles and cheers. I’ve encountered and defied death. Through all of this, the highs and the lows, I’ve learned and I’ve grown.

Over two years later, travel has become a trusted companion and confidant. Travel has helped me work through the anxiety, depression, addiction, and many of those emotions and problems I didn’t know how to deal with. I’m not fully healed, and I’m far from perfect, but by breaking myself down on my own terms, rather than letting outside forces (career, society, etc) break me down further against my will, I have grown into a person I love. A person I’m excited to live life with.

Through solo travel, I have become exponentially more confident in myself and my ability to be by myself. I’ve learned to be present and to appreciate every moment as it happens, because you’ll never get it back. I’ve learned or deepened skills and traits like critical thinking, problem solving, curiosity, emotional intelligence, perseverance, resilience, self-sufficiency, performance under pressure, adaptability, organization, open-mindedness and sense of humor, just to name a few. I’ll be diving more into that in a later post.

Through solo travel, I’ve gained perspective. I have a deep gratitude for all I have at home and the privileges being born in the US provides. I have a wider view of how the rest of the world works, and with that know that there is a laundry list of things we do wrong here and could improve upon.

I travel because I love making life an adventure. I love meeting new people and being exposed to new ideas. I love challenging myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. I travel because it makes me feel alive. It feeds me. Both literally (I love trying any and all new food), but also emotionally and spiritually. I travel because it makes my life more interesting and feel longer (the past few years have felt like an eternity, in a good way, and there is evidence that shows breaking up routine in your life makes your life seem longer). I travel because I can no longer imagine life without it.

I travel because I realize more every day what little time we really have on this earth. Time is a currency and nearly everyone is born rich, but few really cash in. Even if I live to be 100, it still wouldn’t be nearly enough time to do and see everything. I travel because you can’t be everywhere at once, but that doesn’t mean you should stand still. I spent 17 glorious days in Laos and will forever say that I love the country, but I only ever caught a glimpse of it. I love Vang Vieng (one of the main backpacker destinations in Laos), but I only will ever know what Vang Vieng was like from November 15, 2023 – November 20, 2023. Just a glimpse of its entire history. So all I can really say is that I loved that version of the city and my time there. So while I can’t be everywhere at once, I travel in an attempt to defy those odds.

I think it’s important to remember that travel does not have to be to a foreign land. I chose to drop everything and go to the other side of the world, but not everyone has that luxury. Travel for you can also be the next country over, the next state, town, or even street over. The important thing is you are exploring new lands and ideas and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. The important thing is you simply travel.

Why do you travel?