Getting Out

Stated in a previous post, I described how I was a bit of an introvert. However, an event happened to me that had gotten me to see thing differently, pulling me away from my usual comforts. I see this now as an extremely effective method to get introverts, like myself, to get out of their comfort zone; perhaps getting antisocial individuals to want to go out and socialize; and for the average individual to see their environment in a new perspective and to even look at themselves deep inside and possibly change their perception about the mental environment in which they can also be considered introverts. What is this method you ask? It’s simple. It’s traveling.

By traveling, I got the feel of how small the world really is. When I was living in Houston Texas, I felt insignificant. It felt people were always better than me, in competition with me, or that I was living in a habitat designed for me to be, feel, and live the same way as everyone else. After I traveled, all of that changed. From Houston, we drove all the way to Kingman Arizona to visit relatives. While we were there, we traveled around to Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, through Sadona’s epic scenic route, Lake Havasu and various other places. It was an epic adventure that opened my mind as I enjoyed interacting with the extremely friendly locals, taking hundreds pictures, and feeling free just being myself and having a great time. One of the most notable things for me was how close we were to the sky. When I was in Houston, the sky seemed so distant and vast. It made the world feel colossal in size making me feel tiny and insignificant. In Arizona, it’s as if you could climb a mountain to experience what it’s like to be above the clouds. For some reason this made me feel very comfortable and free. Furthermore, being in a different environment has changed me a lot. Now that I am back in Houston, I realize how much of an illusion it seems to be confined to such a small urban area. In addition to that, I find the people here with somewhat of the same confined-mindset. Reflecting upon how I felt and how I continue to feel, I believe if others were to travel more often, preferably by car, they would get a sense of how small the world actually is, how greatly significant they are, how their urban environment can be seen as somewhat of an confined-institution. By traveling, I believe they can learn things about themselves that can be completely life changing. In conclusion, I believe everyone should travel at least once or twice a year to some place far away from their usual environment; so that they can see and experience new things, meet new people, and learn about uniquely different life styles.