Why I travel

It's mid-semester, my first semester as a graduate student in professional writing. I've been meaning to blog for quite some time now, but somewhere between schoolwork and the constant cycle of reading and writing that is the so-called lifestyle of a writer, it's been pushed back. I just finished a novel, am working on developing a second, and also working on a non-fiction book related to student travel.

I'm a beginning freelance writer. It's fun. Sometimes it's overwhelming. And it's brought on a slew of thoughts, especially as I work on the travel book, about why we, as a society, travel. And more specifically, about why I travel. Is it to find myself? Is it to find others unlike myself or similar to myself? Is it to learn about other cultures in order to learn more about myself?

Or is it much more simple and romanticized? For fun, for an escape? While I'm in school, I'm stuck with arm-chair travel for the time being. I'm stuck with my wandering mind .... it seems to always take me to the future, when I can find the time (and the money) to leave home again and search for a new home somewhere else, one that I can tuck away for memory and return to time and time again.

I've found, thinking about these things, that this is travel - searching for something, finding it, and having the ability to return to the experience. I can dream and plan right now, but I've also realized that travel is not just going to exotic places. It's about viewing your own world - school, family, friends, work - through the fresh eyes of a traveler and appreciating what you have.

Maybe the hardest part for a traveler-at-heart is the inner struggle ... living your current life and travels yet always thinking ahead to the next experience, the next escape .... thoughts?

Comments

Posted on 12/08/2009 by

Michelle Saltis

This blog post mirrors my thoughts, opinions, and desires exactly. Traveling is my life and I am always trying to figure out where to go next and how to get there. Love this!

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