I gotta clear something up.

When I refer to travel, I am not referring to flying to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun and swimming in the pool and drinking piña coladas.

I’m not referring to doing a Disney cruise off the coast of Florida.

I’m not even referring to going to some destination spa in the boonies of Iceland (I don’t think this is actually a thing…)

Travel by definition, I assume, means to go somewhere you’re not currently at, right?

When I refer to travel, I think I am referring more to the concept of exploring. Of going to a new place to learn, to change, to be exposed to new things and to grow.

To share and learn and soak in and experience.

To be curious, ask questions about the culture, meet people.

To give up your way of doing things and experiencing life and do it in someone else’s shoes, the most that you can. I actually think this is some sort of responsibility we have.

Quite frankly, this can be done right in your own town. Or right next door. Or across the world.

Obviously the further away the more likely it is to be exposed to some new experiences and new ways of thinking (unless you’re from, like, New York City. Even then, however, I still believe in the impact of going to Thailand, for example.)

Traveling can be a vacation. Vacationing can be traveling.

But there is an innate difference in taking a bus across South America and staying in hostels than flying to the beach in Florida.

I’m all about flying to the beach in Florida, by the way.

Just wanted to clarify.