Pack Your Bags and GO!

Have you ever wanted to just pack your bags and get away? Like literally pick a place, and take a plane with no intentions, just for adventure's sake? It may not be the case for many but I am one of those random individuals who loves to see the world and get away from my comfort zone for awhile. Traveling has become such an important part of my life and I can't think of anything more comforting to me than packing a bag, heading to the airport and landing somewhere completely unfamiliar. Maybe it's the excitement of seeing people you'll never see again or seeing people unique to whereever it is that you are going? Whatever it is, it's all interestingly therapeutic.

I was thinking about my experiences in London today and how fashionable the English are. I remember, when we first got into the city I noticed how easily I stood out! Of course, my first thought was "I probably already stand out because I'm black." but really, I stood out because of my clothes. I was clearly American in my style and in comparison to everyone around me, I was different. Imagine me, dressed in ripped high-waisted jeans and flora top outside of Buckingham Palace while the British walked around in their dark colored, business casual, high fashion. I loved getting gazes from people and I loved returning them with that same awe and curiousity.

What I love most about traveling is getting there. I always try to calculate what's going to happen when I get to a new place. I admit, I think about all of the stereotypes I know of whereever I am going and I always wonder how accurate they are, or aren't. The thrill of being exhausted but too excited to sleep keeps my mind constantly moving. There are so many people and different encounters happening around, it's easy to get distracted by one thought to the other. When I am traveling, it's like my worries and stress move to the back of my mind because there are so many other immediate things taking my attention.

I think traveling is a healthy distraction! It makes those individual problems seem so miniscule in a lot of ways because you see that there are so many other things happening around that you may not even notice. It even helps you organize your thoughts. I mean, there's nothing like being on a long ride (whether its a car or plane) and indulging in a great book. Or if you're anything like me, writing your own! It helps take you out of your normal environment and showing you what things that are happening to you right now are important or unimportant.

I guess what I am saying is: that urge to just go is a real desire and I think people should act on it more often than they do. I'm not saying pack a bag and leave all responsibilities where you left them, but I definitely think that random travel does the soul good. This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Missouri and visit another HBCU and I was so amazed at how refreshed I was when I got back. I was physically and mentally exhausted but my worries from the week before seemed much more distant than they were before I left. My whole focus went from my daily routine to my 24 hours of traveling and truthfully, I was too consumed with that to dwell too long on anything! My return was full of random memories and a refreshed focus. Even if it made things only a little bit better, it was truly the perfect medicine.

I'm an advocate for traveling and having an occasional get away. And sometimes, that is exactly what we need.