Meaningful Travel Expands Perspective

by Amanda
(Iowa)

Travel is so meaningful to me because it opens me up to brand new experiences. I sure wish I could travel more but the experiences I have had thus far definitely have enriched my life tremendously. I have been to New York City and the Los Angeles area just to name a few.

New York was by far my favorite travel experience thus far. I am from Iowa so the atmosphere and culture in New York City was outstanding and very intriguing. I really took advantage of everything that there was to see in New York. One of my favorite parts of this experience was the fact that most people use public transportation to get around whereas where I live people use cars to get around. I loved the subway when I was in New York because it was unique to me. I found myself wishing that transportation was more like this where I am from. While I was in the city I got the opportunity to experience culture in all of the tourist attractions. Checking out the ground zero location was phenomenal. I have never had an experience like that and probably never will ever again.

When I went to the Los Angeles area I was visiting family but I got the chance to get out and about one day. Similar to New York City, I was amazed at the means of transportation methods out there. The population is very similar to New York yet people still choose to get around by car. This makes for traffic jams and stressful traffic situations very frequently. Another great experience was going to the Kodak theater and walking along Hollywood boulevard. It really made me gain perspective on the Hollywood experience and it was nothing like I imagined.

Traveling is meaningful to me because I get to gain a different perspective based on the new experiences I encounter. I look at the simplest things and compare them to locations I have been to before. It is amazing how different things are in different places. I look forward to gaining more experiences and broader perspectives as I travel the world.