How Travel Can Change Your Life For the Better

Travel Can Change Your Life (If You Let It)

Do you want to change your life for the better? If the answer is yes, I encourage you to get out and see more of the world.

I’m Offering This Advice From Personal Experience

I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere. I was TEN when I saw my first person of color in real life. My class was on a school-sponsored field trip touring the Utah State Capitol and in my excitement, I sincerely hope I didn’t point at him. 

Growing up I was incredibly sheltered and woefully ignorant of anything outside of my small town and my self-imposed religious upbringing.

I also very much lived in fear.

I grew up believing believed that:

• Non-Mormons were scary . . . which is especially funny considering my parents weren’t church people
• Strangers were kidnappers
• Car travel resulted in fiery accidents
• Big bodies of water caused drownings
• Airplanes either crashed or became hostage situations
• Chewing tobacco caused brain tumors

The World Was Not Safe 

When my dad died of a brain tumor at thirty-six, leaving my family destitute (or so I thought), life became downright frightening. I vividly remember standing in the City Cemetery during his burial, in the pouring rain, wondering how we would survive. I could not fathom a way for my family to move forward. 

The World Was a Big Scary Place

When I graduated from high school I’d barely left the community I grew up in. The list of places I’d visited is very short:

• Lake Powell
• Southern California (a very kind and generous anonymous gift someone gave our family because my dad was dying)
• Las Vegas (on the way to California)
• The Colorado River for a church-sponsored river rafting trip
• A handful of small towns around Utah for various high school and church activities

Our yearly trips to Provo for school shopping were usually spent at a thrift store. An actual shopping mall was where my class sang Christmas carols every December.

Salt Lake was the Big City. I only remember going to SLC a handful of times for school events like trips to the zoo, the Lagoon Amusement Park and the State Capital. Going all the way to SLC was a big deal, and super scary.

The only films I remember seeing in a movie theater were Bambi as a very little kid and then Jurassic Park many years later. 

As you can see, I grew up sheltered and a little cut off from reality. In the first eighteen years of my life, I barely left my small town, let alone my state. 

A Cultural Education

Like all kids, I learned all sorts of “cultural” truths growing up. Grown-ups accidentally, or on purpose, insinuated that:

• Anyone or anything outside of my small town was different and should generally be avoided

• Being gay was a sin against God and the world (I felt bad for poor Elton John, the only gay person I’d heard of.) 

• Only Mormons got to go to the highest degree of heaven (so, so sad for the rest of the world, thankfully we top tier Mormon folks could pop down and visit our sinner friends . . . if we wanted.)

• A Satanic cult was sacrificing animals outside of town

Also:

• By the time I was in high school I had an unnatural fear of The Three Nephites poking their heads into my bedroom window at night to see if I needed help with anything. 

• It was generally understood that college wasn’t really important. In fact, girls were better off, and a whole lot happier, if they got married and had kids. The more kids the better! 

• It was required to willingly and faithfully pay 10% of your income to the Church. Otherwise you’d suffer poverty your entire life AND you’d have to replace your car tires often and at very inopportune times.

I Wasn’t So Sure About These Cultural Truths . . .

Some of these cultural “truths” didn’t sit right with me.

To make matters worse I abhorred the “small town” girl attire. The local style was Wranglers, cowboy boots and brushpopper shirts. I wanted nothing to do with this type of clothing. It felt too stiff and restrictive.

When everyone was listening to country music I wanted to bounce around to hip-hop (thank goodness Tik-Tok wasn’t around when I was a kid).

When I refused to fall in line with societal norms, it made me feel different . . .  I felt like someone who should be avoided.

Would you care to know the most bombastic mistruth that was piped into my head throughout my youth?

• America is the best
• We American’s do everything the best
• There is no better place in the world than America 

America is Great, but . . .

Don’t get mad.

The United States is fabulous and I’m glad it’s my home.

However, the world is FULL of fabulous places. There are many other countries that are safer, cleaner, and more prosperous than the United States and offer ALL residents a higher standard of living than what we experience.

Canada, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia all consistently outrank the USA as great places to live.

I encourage you to go visit these countries (if you can afford it). It’s an eye-opening experience.

Was it Propaganda . . . or Gaslighting?

Fun Activity: If you think what I grew up believing was odd and unbelievable, consider for a moment the propaganda you grew up believing . . . especially if any of your cultural propaganda was religious-based.

Allow yourself to have a good laugh.

Then cringe if you forced this same propaganda onto your own kids. #truth #haha

In truth, I find all of the “propaganda” I grew up believing very amusing now.

Looking back I can see I left home very closed-minded and completely unprepared for the life I would eventually lead. I’m not complaining, like everyone I bumbled along life, learning as I went. I’m very happy with my life today so the learning experiences were worth it!

Take a World Religion Class

My perspective of what I thought I knew about the world was forever changed while taking a required World Religions class in college.

I will NEVER forget the moment the teacher accurately described Jesus as a dark-haired, dark-eyed, tan skinned dude from the Middle East and not the Renaissance-created blonde-haired, blue-eyed Italian with a perfect blowout.

Jesus was not a white Italian? WHAT?!?!?

We can thank Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and their patrons for skewing history for generations of Christians.

Has Travel Changed Me? Heck Yeah!

That poor frightened kid who grew up in the middle of nowhere and was afraid of her parents, death, poverty, non-Mormons, gays, the Three Nephites and tithing would not in any way relate to the person that I am today.

Thank goodness for that!

Life is about growing, learning and evolving. It’s healthy to move past the mindset of a high schooler.

Unless you travel around the world with your eyes and heart sealed shut, travel WILL change you and I bet you’ll be changed for the better.

Imagine This!

Imagine for a moment that you’re taking public transportation through a new city or across a new country. Your forehead is leaned up against the window, resting on the cool glass. As you observe the scenery passing by, you notice some things are different from what you’re used to. 

Here are some questions I frequently ask myself as I’m traveling and staring out the bus window:

• Why are places (like Germany) so perfectly clean and orderly, yet trash is littered along the train tracks of most other places you visit (literally anywhere outside of Germany)? 

• Why do workers go on strike so often in Europe? When they go back to work do they have twice as much work to do? 

• Do residents of Jerusalem ever think about the history that happened under their feet as they go about their day? 

• Who in Spain thought it would be a good idea for cars and cyclists to share the freeway?

• How do delivery trucks find parking spaces in Rome? 

• How do drivers safely maneuver huge buses around narrow streets that were built for horse and buggy? 

• Why doesn’t the United States have a better railway system?

• Where do dry cities get their water?

• McDonalds are everywhere and they are ALWAYS busy. Why do so many people make fun of people who eat there?

• How many unbusy businesses are a front for drugs?

• What would it be like to live in this place I’m passing through?

• Would I WANT to live here?

A Third World Country Bus Ride

One of my favorite memories is of taking a very long bus ride on a dirt road between Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Alongside the dirt road we were bumping along, crews were building a brand new paved freeway.

I couldn’t help but wonder how the lives of the locals would change with a paved road linking the two major cities.

The more you travel, the less “afraid” you’ll feel of the unknown.  In fact, if you can learn to travel with an open mind you’ll discover:

• There are a lot of places in the world that are much nicer, safer, and more prosperous than what we experience in the United States. 

• The vast majority of strangers don’t give a crap about you or what you’re doing. If someone IS interested in you and/or what you’re doing, that’s a sign of trouble. 

• There’s a lot more good in the world than bad. If you can learn to focus on the good, your life will bring you more joy.

• Food outside of the United States is both delicious and interesting. However be careful of the sweet-treats, they can be addictive and difficult to find once you return home.

Careful . . . Your Perspective Might Change

If you travel frequently you might find your own fundamental truths slowly evolving. Beware of the following radical ideas and proceed with caution:

Helping Strangers

• You might find yourself impulsively and selflessly helping lost travelers when you come across them in the United States.

Updated Religious Beliefs

• You might become much more understanding and possibly even interested in learning about different religions. You’ll be curious why people believe what they do and you’ll want to understand, without judgment, why a stranger finds their religion to be the right fit for them. You might even pick up pieces of other belief system. There’s nothing remotely Catholic about me, but I could spend hours wandering around Catholic churches. I love the quiet and the calm. 

Accepting Non-Traditional Lifestyles

• You might find yourself having new thoughts about big issues that you’ve traditionally had strong feelings about. For example, as you notice a same-sex couple going about their day with their cute, laughing kids you’ll realize that this happy family isn’t in any way disrupting your life or making the world a worse place to be. You might even smile and choose to be happy for them.

Obnoxious Wealth Becomes, Well, Obnoxious

• You might see obnoxious wealth in prosperous cities and have tinglings of concern about starving kids all over the world. When you visit the port in Monaco and see the luxury mega yachts . . . you might ask yourself if all that money could possibly be used a little more wisely to help everyone with basic needs. 

Socialized Healthcare Seems Less Radical

• As you learn how different healthcare systems work around the world, you’ll start asking yourself why healthcare in the United States is so expensive and why Americans take so many pills. You might even secretly entertain the idea that perhaps basic health care should be given freely to everyone.

Legalizing Drugs Seems Rational

• As you wander through the safe, homeless-free streets of Amsterdam you’ll notice that drugs and marajuana are sold legally in stores and taxed by the government. As you see this pragmatic approach to drug use and abuse, don’t be surprised when you find yourself wondering . . . If drugs were legalized and taxed in the United States would the drug trade stop? Would gang violence drop? Would our prison population drop? Would the borders be a little safer? 

You Might Wish Addicts Had a Safe Space

• You might even go a step further and wonder how our country would change if addicts had a safe place to do drugs. You might see that monitoring drug use would protect our communities from drug-fueled violence, it would prevent drug-caused car accidents, and cops and paramedics would spend a lot less time on OD calls. Most importantly, a lot of moms and dads could worry a little less about the kids they love knowing they’re battling their addiction in a safe, controlled space. 

These Ideas Aren’t For Everyone . . . and That’s Okay

I know these are big, polarizing ideas and they aren’t for everyone.

However, as someone who grew up with a very limited life view combined with a narrow-minded church belief system, I’m a little shocked and quite proud at how drastically my worldview has changed.

A combination of education and travel have helped me to develop my current belief system. Through my travels, I feel like I’ve become more understanding and open minded to other cultures and belief systems. I’m better off for it too.

Start traveling. The world needs your love.

Thanks So Much for Visiting!

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I’d love to hear about your travel experiences, good and bad. We’ll all be better travelers if we learn from one another. 

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, a huge thanks to Unsplash for providing these awesome photos.