Lessons from Wanderings

If you are not willing to discuss, to argue, to debate, but in doing these things to also LISTEN and be willing to change your own opinions and feelings, to RESEARCH to see if the facts and figures are with or against you, then do not travel.

There are enough closed-minded people in the world...
we need to connect more and reject less,
listen more and speak less
understand more and out-do less.

There are reasons that we have opinions...but that does not always mean that our reasons are the right ones.  Be open to the world, the possibilities.  Be humble in the greatness of the fact that there is a big world out there...and a lot more opinions and experiences than just your own!

Open Up

6 Words to Explain Why Learning English is so Difficult

Why do you #LoveTheWorld?

You don't have to be famous to love the world, though BBC got some great feedback from some famous people, writers, reporters, and more.  Now it's your turn; What is an experience from YOUR past year that made you (or reminded you how much) you love the world?


For me, it was staring out the window, knowing it was meant to rain at the furthest North point we would be in Norway during our trip, and coming to terms with the fact that it was unlikely, even on a clear night, that we would see the Northern Lights there.  A cloud appeared before my eyes...smokey and light over the wing of the plane around 2 am.  Except it wasn't a cloud...it was a morphing, spooky, twisting ribbon of light, right in front of my eyes.  The Northern Lights had appeared as I sat doubting my chances of their presence.  The world is mysterious, and I love it!

Check out the original article, and tell me what you think!

In the meantime, here's some of my feedback on BBCs 50 Reasons To #LoveTheWorld:

49.  OMG.

41, 40, 38...all of these make me smile just imagining how these people must have felt...not only in the moment that they experienced these things...but in the moments when they recall them.

36...adORABLe.

33...CHILLS.

32, always.

26...what a world! Crazy beautiful.

25: The answers always are within the youngest of our generations

22.  It is AMAZING what a little effort will do.  An attempt, even a failed one, takes you miles.

20. Are you happy to be alive?  FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE(S)!

18.  Closing Time: "some other beginning's end"

17.  Remember you are a small thing in this big place.  And this big place is also very small.

9.  Tony Hawk knows what's up...and he mentioned Skateistan!  I featured a story on them a while back!  Yay!

4...what truth!  Despite our best efforts we can never see or know it all!

1.  HAHA...was there ever any doubt??

Find Your Grow-Zone!

The World is as BIG or as small as You Make It.

If you ever wondered how to travel without leaving your own home, you might want to speak to an awesome group of kids from around the globe featured in a Sundance Short Film with the title of this article, and recently featured on Upworthy.  

Thanks to some incredible teachers, and their own interest and participation, they've been making the world a smaller place, pulling themselves closer to one another.  Once a week, they are given time to connect and communicate with students around the same age from different cities and countries across the globe.  They sometimes speak the same language, and sometimes they'll use interpreters.  They share pictures and videos of where they are from and what they like to do.  

What they have is better than any generic movie one could see in the theater; they are essentially virtual pen pals.  These students have a unique "tour guide"-type system that shows them around the world through the perspective of other students their own age from every corner of the planet.  It is beautiful to see their connections, their smiles, and their stories.  I love hearing their honest questions to complete strangers and the answers that bring them closer, until they become friends.  They've never met in person, but they know more about one another than some of their own neighbors probably do.  It is a beautiful and shocking reminder:

The world is as big or as small as you make it.

See the film on Upworthy to get the full impact.