Why we travel?
Outline
- Your travels
- Why travel?
- Why travel top 10
- Why should young people travel?
- Why don't Americans travel?
- Self-imposed Isolation
- Passports
Your travels
I have been to many states in the US, and most have been visited several times. In the summer of 2017, I did my most traveling I have ever done, and I did it in a short couple weeks. I decided one day that I was going to take a solo road trip from Omaha, NE to California. Id say my motivation for this trip was to prove that I could do something as crazy as this. I did not have much money, other than for gas and some food, and I had a tent in the trunk of my car. When I went to Mexico, it was in high school for a family vacation over holiday break. I just recently got back from Jamaica, and what brought me their was for a wedding.
Why travel?
Huberman at first does not really know how to answer the question of why she travels, and almost seems afraid to answer the question from her coworkers. She says, “Ill be exposed to new ways of doing and seeing things. It will be good for me”. All of her stories were eye opening, but perhaps the one that stands out to me a lot is in China, where she goes to an amusement park, and sees a part called, “windows of the world”. She doesn’t think much of it, because its pretty much all of the worlds most famous pieces into one area, but then her friend explains to her how she as an American has it so well because she can travel the world with no problem and all that the Chinese will ever get to see of the world is what Windows of the World will show them.
Why travel top ten
I chose 1,5,6 for my top 10 reasons to travel. (1) It teaches you about the world: I have always wanted to know more about the world and I think it is important because if you don’t go out and experience the world, then you only sort of one way of thinking. I have been fortunate enough to be able to see a different part of the world, such as Mexico and Jamaica. Besides the beautiful beaches, I gained knowledge of how it really is like to live in these parts of the world and a lot of times it is not great for those people. (5) It provides you with unforgettable moments and experiences: Traveling is one thing you will never forget or regret. I remember every single place outside of Nebraska that I have traveled, but barely remember the places I’ve been to in my home state. Traveling provides you with memories that will last a lifetime. (6) It makes you more confident and independent: I think this one if most important to me because before I took my west coast solo road trip, I had really bad anxiety about traveling alone, but now, I would do it again in a second. The amount of confidence it put in me to not only travel, but gaining confidence in myself to show that I am able to do things without help from anyone but a map.
Why should young people travel?
1.) You’ll get out of your comfort zone: I think this is extremely important because sometimes in America we get too comfortable with either our living situation or our way of life and being able to get out and experience a different way of life and getting uncomfortable in situations is healthy
2.) Traveling builds confidence: I can relate to this one more than the rest of the reasons. Traveling makes you so much more confident as a person because you feel like you can do anything and go anywhere when you travel outside of your state or even city.
3.) You will develop cultural sensitivity: This one is important. Being sensitive to others cultures is important because you get to see how other people live and what type of lifestyle they live.
4.) You can adopt to globalization: learning how to communicate with other cultures and people is important because a job might require you to do that someday, especially if you travel for your job.
5.) Be amerced in a second language: I know when I went to Jamaica, even though they spoke English, it is a different. The culture is different and just listening to them speak was a big eye opener to me because I could understand more of what the people of Jamaica were all about.
6.) Infinite opportunities to network: Networking is a huge thing, especially for people in school ad the more people you meet and the different types of people you meet, I think the better well rounded you are when it comes to networking and job seeking
Why don't Americans travel?
Pretty much all of the reasons listed in this article is because of Americans being stubborn. 30% of Americans have passports. That’s a lot of people and some may not have access to get a passport, but still that number is way low compared to Canada and the UK. Comfort is a big thing for Americans, and its almost like some people would rather stay in the comfort of their own home than go out and explore the world or even their own country, which would be significantly cheaper. Another reason I guess is more of a good reason than the others, but it makes a good point about how here in America, we have almost every vacation destination you could want. Beaches, mountains, Irish pubs, etc. But for me, the one thing that is missing is that it is still America, and you still get to meet new people, but not new people from a totally different way of life. The last one, work culture is a tough one. The idea of a “gap year” in our culture is crazy and almost looked down on, whereas New Zealand and the UK take pride in the gap year and it would be crazy if you didn’t take a gap year. I think the idea of taking a year off to think about what you want is a great idea and should really be considered going forward.
Self-imposed
Isolation?
Growing up, I have always wanted to travel and see the world. Whether that be by driving, flying, and recently I’ve considered the idea of sailing (but that’s further down the road). My dads side of the family are not much travelers and they would rather spend time in their small town, doing the same thing every day than getting out and exploring the world or even the state. I have talked to them about this before and they almost seem scared to drive in the city such as Omaha or Denver and such. I have explained to them many times that because they don’t travel very often, I think they will regret it in the long run and the way they think of the world will continue to be the same. My dad is double my age, and my grandparents are triple my age, and yet I have been to more states, than them combined, and also more countries. This self imposed isolation is something I hope I can change for them one day because I would hate for them to go their whole lives and not see what is out there.
Passports
The map I chose, shows that a lot of the Midwest
states have the highest percent of passport ownership in the country, other
than a lot of the south east states. I honestly think that this is true because
a lot of these places don’t have much of a vacation feel to it like a Colorado or
Florida has.
Submitted by Brady Norgard on January 26th, 2020