Elise+B’s+2016+OpEd+Article

Regarding Travel  By Elise Bartel

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

Traveling is one of the most important things a person can do. To go out and really //see// various places in the world allows for different perspectives and learning experiences. Being able to know and understand different societies and cultures through experience is a vital key to making a person more well-rounded and open-minded. This type of //true// understanding cannot be achieved in a classroom setting. Simply reading or learning about different places, without actually going to them, will not lead to complete awareness of that place. For example, it is absolutely impossible to comprehend the realities of poverty without at //least// going through an affected neighborhood or town. Simply reading about statistics and standards of living on poverty, or even a highly descriptive novel about it, would never suffice to the experiences gained from actually going and being there.

Experiencing things for yourself also allows for a more impartial viewpoint. It is almost impossible for a book or teacher to not have a bias, therefore making it extremely difficult to learn from an entirely objective standpoint. Traveling, or at least experiencing, on the other hand allows one to make up their own minds about cultures and societies. It lets you form your own true opinions, and the more “experiences” you have at a variety of places helps to make you a more diverse and well-rounded person. Having a multitude of perspectives can make a person more open-minded and understanding of new things that he or she might encounter.

Traveling and having connections to several places also helps with memory and learning. For example, when I went to Europe with my family, it helped me to better comprehend what France, Britain and Italy were really like. This new knowledge became really helpful when we started studying World History in school. When my teachers would mention places like the Palace of Versailles in France (and how Louis XIV and the Royal family were forced to leave during the French Revolution), it made it much easier to learn and remember because I had been to that castle. I already had a connection to Versailles from being there, so learning about the French Revolution became far easier to remember.

Now this doesn’t mean that reading and learning in a classroom aren’t important. Gaining new knowledge is obviously super beneficial, but having both experience and learned knowledge is the ultimate goal. These two types of understanding go hand in hand because either one can greatly enhance the other. Learning about the history and culture of a place can greatly improve your experience if you visit said-place. And as stated earlier, experience of course enhances learning. Having multiple connections to various ideas and places are what allow for a stronger comprehension and understanding.

Traveling is one of the most powerful things that we can do to enhance our understanding of the world. Plus, we all only have one life to live. Choosing whether you want to spend your life learning from other peoples’ experiences or having your own is entirely up to you. But personally, I don’t see the point in wasting our lives on what we hear through other people. Go on adventures, have your own experiences and make your own opinions. Live your life, //for you//.