A traveling soul...

Sydney Harbor, Sydney Australia - Sept. 2005

I've been traveling for as long as I remember. Until I was a teenager, most of these, obviously, were family trips. Once I got to middle school, I've taken every opportunity to travel I could. In 7th grade I went on a school trip to Spain (Madrid), France (Paris) and England (London). I loved it. I was hooked. The traveling bug bite me and I've never looked back. When I was 16 my grandma took my sister and I on a month long trip to the British Isles, we traveled around England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales (mind you, on a bus with mostly elderly people) but it just reinforced my love for being surrounded by the unknown. I am not a very outgoing person, many considered me to be shy for most of my life. But something about being in another country, another culture, another world, makes me feel more comfortable being the person I am than living the life I live everyday, in the town I've lived in for more than 2 decades.

My birthday is July 12. That makes me a Cancer. For those of you who don't follow astrology, Cancer's are especially prone to be very family and home oriented. Something I have noticed, however, is that many Cancer's can carry their home on their backs (like Crabs, the astrological sign for Cancers, do). This is probably one of the truest statements for me. While I may not be technically 'home', as long as I have certain items with me, I can feel at home where ever I am. No matter where I go, even if it is on a weekend trip, I bring a journal. I, however, never actually write in the journal. Well, barely ever. I have no idea why I bring it with me, but I do. I traveled around Australia for a month and the only thing scribbled in my journal are a few peoples names, email addresses and a few notes about hotels I made reservations at or flight confirmation numbers. Well, there might be one actual journal entry, but that is it. For a month, I backpacked around a country, carrying my entire world on my back, and I insisted on one of those items be a journal that barely wrote anything in. But like I said, no matter what trip i am on, it's almost a guaranteed bet that I will have a journal in one of my bags or tossed into the trunk of my car if I happen to be driving.

The other night I was having drinks with some people I know through work/school. I started talking to one of the girls about my last trip to Mexico and she made a comment that she's never been to Mexico. Actually the only place she's ever been is to Hawaii because her parents have a timeshare. THIS BAFFLED ME. I have friends who don't really travel, or who say they would like to "travel" but that means staying in an all inclusive resort where, besides the shuttle ride from the airport to their resort or cruise ship, they never see anything except what the resort wants them to see. I'll fully admit that traveling like that may be easy, it may be relaxing in many ways, and it may mean that you never come down with a case of Montezuma's Revenge from eating the local fair from the street vendor...

It also means that you may never eat the best strawberry ice cream you've ever had (somewhere in London) or play Dance Revolution with a bunch of 12 year olds in a Mexican arcade (so fun, take my word for it). You might never find those hidden hot springs down that deserted dirt road or the little 'tienda' that sells 24 bottles of Dos Equis for like 5 bucks. You might never have one of the most intense relationships you've ever had, even if it only lasted for 5 days. You might never make love on a beach. You might never skinny dip in the ocean full of bioluminescent plankton, on a night with no moon, making every movement of your body light up the water like the fireworks light up the sky on the 4th of July. You also might never get stung by a jellyfish swimming, or step on a sting ray while wading in the water, or sight a shark out of the corner of your eye while scuba diving. But even those moments (and even that case of Montezuma's Revenge) were worth every precious moment I've experienced while traveling.

I also understand that traveling (at least MY idea of traveling) isn't meant for everyone. I also get it that some people just could care less about seeing other parts of the world, but I still can't help but be baffled when someone says they don't have any desire to travel. It is something that fulfills my heart and soul so completely that I can't believe it doesn't do that for others.

What fills your heart and soul so completely that you are completely baffled when others don't feel the same way about it?

Scuba Diving in Cozumel, Quintano Roo, Mexico - Feb. 2008