Things You Learn When You Travel

How to read a map.

How to use every transportation type known to mankind.

It's not about the money.

There will always be differences in opinion.  You know what's more important than opinions?  People.

The world speaks English on the average, 

but it's so much better that we have so many different languages!  

The world is a symphony of language and cultures.  

We are part of something bigger than ourselves.

There are functioning medical systems.

There are dysfunctional governments.

People and their governments are not interchangeable (you recognize this and do not generalize an entire nation by the few who govern them).

The pictures never do justice to the experiences.

Your home isn't perfect.

There is no such thing as perfect.

...except moments; You learn to see, to recognize, to bask in, and to cherish the perfect moments.

You can never be "normal" again.

Every day is a brand new experience.

Travel can happen in your own backyard.

Sometimes there is nothing more you can say than, "You had to be there."

You can sleep when you're dead.

Stay out later than is usually reasonable...that's when the crazy stories come to pass.

There is more to life than work.

What makes you comfortable.

What makes you UNcomfortable.

What scares you.

That not everything is as scary as it seemed from afar.

There are people out there who dream as big as you do.

There are people around the world who want peace.

There are people who have "nothing," that actually have "everything."

That a simple life is better than a million "things."

Judgement says nothing of others and everything about you.

Sometimes it rains.  Sometimes it pours.  Sometimes it's sweltering hot or polar vortex frigid.  

But it's always a good time.

People are doing their best.

People want to be helpful.

We are not the same, and that is what makes us each so beautiful.

We are all the same, and that is what makes us all so powerful.

Who you are.

What you want.

What love really is.

You can be in a foreign place in a few minutes or hours.

You can be heartbroken to be so far away from it in an equal amount of time.

You can go back.

It's worth it to chase whatever is around the next corner.

It's worth it to see the touristy things.

It's worth it to go off the beaten path.

It's worth it.

One week is never enough.

One lifetime is never enough.

There is always more to see.  

Take every opportunity you get.

Treat everyone like the human being that he or she is.

Be humble.

Be willing to learn.

Be willing to change.

Be willing to grow.

Be willing to travel.  

You will be an eternal student and your outlook will be that of a child: ever hopeful, ever happy, ever kind, ever non-judgemental, ever excited, ever joyful, ever yourself in your purest form.