Chapter 1.4: Expanding Your Worldview

Do you remember being a child, when things that seem close now felt so far away? I remember being about eight and asking my mom how far a mile was. She told me it was from our house to my grandmother's house. Which to me then, was the opposite end of town, with our church (actually only fifteen to twenty minutes away) being at the very edge of it.

Downtown Vancouver seemed like it had to be a planned day trip and my grandparents' houses in Auburn and Federal Way felt like they were at the opposite end of the country. I couldn't imagine driving further than Seattle. Surely driving past Seattle would take you right out of America.

But then in high school I had to drive to the opposite end of Vancouver every day. I expanded my mental map and suddenly my view of Vancouver was more complete and bigger. I still tried to do everything I needed to do at that end of town in one trip, but going down there if I missed something didn't seem so impossible. Then as I more often went to Portland, my small city seemed like such a blip on the map.

Within the last year I moved to Bellingham and suddenly there was something further than Seattle. Now Tacoma was close to home and Centrailia (still an hour and half from my house) was practically there. At first, the drive from Bellingham to Vancouver seemed like a cross country trek. Now, I know the drive isn't short, but coming home for a weekend is no problem. Of course, I speed, but that's beside the point.

Then this summer I flew to London. Yes, I'd been outside the country before (I went to Mexico with my family in my freshman year of high school) but this was the first time I was alone. It's different experiencing a country when you have family around as opposed to where you know no one. You actually meet people and experience the culture more.

So what is the point of this whole post? People need to travel. Travel near or travel far, but go outside the sphere of what you know. This is my new belief: the more you travel, the more you realize that there is so much out there. And you are not the only person who matters, your beliefs are not the only ones that are valid. I think seeing more of the world helps you reevaluate what you think and what you see.

Today's post brought to you today courtesy of my mind whirring when I looked at my odometer driving my sister home.