A Word About the Privilege of Travel

To travel by choice, for pleasure or recreation, is an activity reserved for a privileged few – myself included. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have traveled as much as I have, and even more fortunate for the traveling I am about to do. 

Maurizio Cattelan's America at the Guggenheim

I have heard so many people talk about travel as a necessity – something you should just do. Just buy a plane ticket! Just take a few days off and go on an adventure! But most people don't have the luxury of surplus time off or disposable income. For most of my life I've lived precariously paycheck-to-paycheck. Always making rent, but maybe not turning on the AC. Keeping my car payments and insurance covered, but certainly without the luxury of fancy vacations (or much time off). But even back when things were the hardest, they were still manageable. Things were never as hard for me as they are for many people. And I still found a way to travel. 

The last few years have been the most financially stable of my life. I have a crazy amount of student loan debt from grad school, but I've paid off my undergrad loans and my car, I have no credit card debt, and I even have a savings account now! All in all, I'm doing pretty well. And I'm in the extremely privileged position of being able to drop everything and travel around Europe for two months. 

As Chad and I get ready to go on this amazing and overwhelming adventure, I think it's important to recognize how lucky we are. This is not a typical honeymoon. And we feel extremely fortunate that we're in a position to have this experience. Because as difficult as it can be to find the time and money to travel, I really do believe it's one of the most important and rewarding things you can do – whether you travel domestically or internationally. It helps you learn about yourself and others in a way that is impossible if you never get out of your comfort zone. Seeing the world from a different perspective can change you and it allows you to grow. It helps you find empathy and it helps you understand and accept people who are different than you. And that's a beautiful thing.