My Ignited Love For Travel

I am a free-spirited dreamer by heart. I believe travel has always been in my blood since I was born. I get this love for travel from my grandparents I think. Before my Papa and Nanny decided to settle down and have a family of their own. They traveled and lived in various places. My Nanny would sit with us and talk about all the places they lived in. I enjoyed listening to her stories because they were interesting. She told me I was still young and if traveling was a dream then I needed to pursue it. I didn't need to wait because there was so much out there to see. When she passed away, I made a promise to myself that I would travel around the world in her honor. I sure do miss her every day and I wished she was still here. I wished I could tell her my stories and show her all my photos of the places I have been to so far. I do feel like she is walking right beside me on every adventure I have decided to take. I do love being at home in my own space but there are times I have to get out to explore. I don't like being stuck in one place for a long period of time. My mind will go crazy! I am just curious about our world and the people we share it with. 

I have always dreamed of traveling to faraway places beyond the United States. When I was old enough to learn about the different continents, countries, and cultures in school. My vision of traveling around the world grew more and more each day. I really didn't care where I traveled to. I was intrigued by all destinations with cold or warm climates. I just wanted to see the world and I loved learning about it. When I would sit down to read a novel or just a book on a destination. I would imagine myself being there and exploring the unknown. The only thing standing in my way was the fear of flying. I am terribly afraid of heights. Just knowing being on a plane for a long period of time thousands of feet in the air gave me anxiety. I was 29 when I first got the chance to ride in an airplane. I was nervous but at the same time excited. I was stepping out of my comfort zone for the first time ever and it felt amazing. Just getting the experience of walking through an airport and just observing every person that walked by you. I often wondered about the destination they were heading towards. The airport is mapped out like a mini-vacation before your vacation, if that makes any sense. After waiting for several hours for your plane to arrive and the airport staff announces over the speaker to let you know they are now boarding. The feeling you get as soon as you start walking through the terminal to your plane. The butterflies start dancing inside your stomach and the anxiety builds. Once your feet steps into the plane cabin, there is no turning back.

I will never forget the lady sitting next to me on my first airplane flight. I had the window seat and she sits down next to me. She introduces herself because we would be on this 2-hour flight together. I tell her this was my first airplane experience and she calmly tells me everything will be fine. The lady tells me after this first flight, I will be hooked. She asked me where my friend and I were heading after our connection in Chicago. I tell her we are heading to London, England. She looks at me with wide eyes and laughs. She says to me that for my first flight I might as well go big. The lady adds that the plane to London will be bigger and I won't feel a thing. She explains to me that when the plane starts to ascend into the air just close my eyes and when we are in the air look out the window. There is a rush of feeling you get while having your eyes closed and gripping the seat while ascending into the air. The feeling of butterflies you get while looking out the window. Flying and being up in the clouds is the most amazing feeling to ever experience. A girl who has always kept her head in the clouds dreaming, she was actually in the clouds above everything. There is this calmness that runs through you while looking out the window it is like you're touching heaven. Seeing everything down below from above in the sky is so exciting. I still close my eyes and grip the seat while ascending into the air. It is something I will always do. That lady is most definitely right, I am hooked on flying now.   

I have always loved Europe and when I got the chance to finally see it for myself. Europe was everything I had ever imagined. I think the hardest part was getting through security and customs once we arrived in the United Kingdom. That right there was nerve-racking but a very interesting experience to have. Just standing in line with other cultures and listening to all the other languages was intriguing. Once you finally get through customs, find your luggage, and the person who will be driving you to the hotel. You will have a slight chance to finally breathe in the fresh air because everything in Europe is fast-paced. Then you are having to experience riding in a vehicle on the opposite side of the road from what you are used to driving back home. You are most definitely in for one heck of a ride but an amazing one at that. It was a total adrenaline rush for sure! I honestly think with the 3 hours of sleep I got on the plane, I was totally delirious. I really didn't care how fast we were going, I just wanted to see London for all it was. London is a very diverse city so it makes it even more interesting to visit. It is a city for all ages and it was everything I had ever imagined. There is so much rich history there, though, I didn't get to see everything on my list. I hope someday soon I will get that chance to go back and explore more of London.

I hope God does bless me one day with a husband that understands my love for travel. I hope he will jump on board of traveling to other destinations with me. If I am ever blessed with children, I will be taking them for trips around the world along with us. I think it is very important for children to learn about our world. They need to develop that sense of adventure, humanity, imagination, and learn about other cultures. I think when a child learns about their world and those we share it with. They will develop that sense of respect. I am not saying that every parent should do this because not every person likes to travel outside of the United States. That decision will be all up to you. I just believe a child should learn about our world no matter if it's in school or at home. I just know they will learn more about certain places they visit by being there in person. Before taking these trips, I knew a lot about Europe but being there I learned so much more. I have seen so many amazing landmarks all across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It amazes me how old everything is there but Europe wouldn't be called "The Old World" for no reason. I have met some of the most incredible people in my tour groups as well as the locals. The food is so amazing especially their breakfast. There was not one thing I ate during those tours that I didn't like. One thing I noticed is if you are there longer than a week, you will begin to start talking with an accent. It just comes naturally because you are picking up on their dialect with the conversations you have. It is very interesting for sure. Everyone knows I love sunrises and sunsets, they are amazing on the other side of the world too. There is just an excitement deep within you that develops by being in a foreign land. 

  

I have gained more clarity for the world and its people. We are often conditioned into believing our world and others are evil. Yes, there is evil in the world and some people are the cause of it. The understanding of the matter is not every country or person is evil. There are some amazing people out there who enjoy learning about you just as much as we enjoy learning about them. To be honest, they want to come here to America just as bad as we want to go to their country. I learned this when I went back to Scotland last summer. I gave myself a chance this time to talk to the locals when we would be eating, shopping, or touring. I will be a journalist one day so I need to learn how to put myself out there. It is very important for us to incorporate travel within our lives even if it's traveling around here in the United States. Travel helps you grow and learn more about who you are as an individual. It broadens your horizons and opens your mind up to new possibilities. There is so much to see out there. I do know for fact travel has helped me grow into the person I am now. 

Today, travel is now under a lot of restrictions due to COVID-19. The restrictions due to the virus are making it hard on those who love and enjoy traveling to new places. These restrictions will still be there. I do believe it will help us respect our world and the people we share it with a little bit more. After we all come out of this hard time, there will be a change in travel around the world. There will be a change in our world altogether. I believe God has put us all in this place in our lives for a reason. He wants us all to come together as one and remember why he created this beautiful world we live in. God wants us to remember why he created us all and to know we are equal no matter what we are conditioned into believing. He just wants us to learn love and respect for one another no matter where we come from. I do believe he is wanting me to help all of you remember this through writing and photography. Like I have said before, I don't understand why he has chosen me but I am beginning to see why. He created me to be a farsighted person. What that means is, I see the beauty within our world and its people beyond what meets the eyes. I am a dreamer and I imagine far beyond a normal person. It is what makes me unique and beautiful. I am here to bring the light, love, beauty, hope, and faith back into our world through my gifts. It is a blessing for any person to have because you are bringing back to our world what we so desperately need.

-The Vintage Writer