In early 2020, I looked at my husband told him I wanted to do a solo backpacking hike. That for my birthday I wanted to get a backpack and start training and planning for it.
See, I felt I just needed to get away from people. I needed to clear my head and just be by myself. Well, we all know what happened in 2020. A pandemic in case you didn’t know. 😉
Which meant, I was alone (alone with my husband) and had plenty of time to clear my head. So that backpacking trip didn’t happen. In fact, very few trips happened in 2020. We road tripped to a couple of places but it definitely was not the year I was thinking it would be.
So now fast forward and it’s almost 2022. And like most of us, I’m still processing 2020. I feel like I’ve aged about 40 years and that backpacking trip doesn’t seem so accessible. Getting on a flight for 16 hours sounds like a very difficult thing to do. When I used to do it several times a year. I haven’t used my Passport since 2019. None of these things am I okay with.
Why Traveling is Vital to the Health & Education of Everyone
Which brings me to why I’m writing this. I have something new in store for 2022 and it’s going to start with a community. A community of women who love to travel.
Because I really believe that the most important way to spend money is on travel. The past two years have really driven this home for me and here’s why…
Traveling Introduces You to Other Cultures
One of the biggest frustrations I have experienced these last two years is the lack of cultural understanding with this pandemic. If you’re making a global pandemic about your rights as an American, you are not culturally aware. You do not understand the affects of your decisions on the world as a whole.
Quite frankly, everyone who I’ve seen say this hasn’t been anywhere. And if they have, they tend to stay in American owned resorts and don’t talk to anyone from the country they’re visiting.
Traveling Keeps You Young & Healthy
Part of why I feel like I’ve aged 40 years is probably because I haven’t taken care of my body or mental health as well as I have in the past. See, when you get on regular 16 hour flights, you have to be prepared for that. Or, if you’re in a country with new food you don’t usually eat, you need to understand how to deal with that.
Then there are vaccines. I have never seen so much whining over shots. When I traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia, I took shots no questions asked. I understood that there are doctors who know more than me and understand diseases in different parts of the world more than I do. So I listened to them and I took the vaccine. No, I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s the responsible thing to do to keep me healthy.
Traveling Makes You Understand Your Own Country
I cannot believe the amount of times I hear “love it or leave it” about the states. This is just ignorant. First of all, you’re greatly underestimating the difficulty of moving countries. Believe it or not, you can’t just pick up and go where you want. Secondly, not all countries want an abundance of Americans moving to their country.
Traveling Makes You Understand REAL Hardships
Look, wearing a mask is not a hardship. Not having food, not having shelter, those are hardships. If you haven’t seen these first hand, travel and open your eyes. That’s really all I have to say about that. Please don’t pretend that watching the news is good enough.
Traveling Let’s You Understand Religion
Did you know you can be a Buddhist Christian? It wasn’t until I traveled to Thailand that I found out the Buddhism is about love and peace. It was eye opening for me. Honestly, I thought it was about worshiping a fat man. No lie. It’s not.
Additionally, when I was in Australia, there was a Baptist Church with a female preacher. This is SUPER RARE in the southern states. In fact, I’ve actually never met a female Baptist preacher. It’s an issue I’ve always had with the denomination but being in Australia made me realize it’s not like that everywhere. Not all Baptists are sexist.
Finally, during this pandemic, the most annoying and infuriating thing I’ve seen is people using Jesus as a reason not to wear a mask or get vaccinated. It’s the only religion I’ve seen do this.
Traveling Allows You to Find Your Place
I truly believe that a woman’s place is wherever the hell she wants. If you want to stay home with your kids, do it. If you want to work, do it. But don’t assume a woman doesn’t work. Don’t assume a woman wants kids. Don’t assume a woman can’t travel somewhere without a man.
Statistically, I’m most likely to be murdered by my husband. So traveling with him is not going to ensure my safety. Sorry, but that’s reality. Now, I’m not advocating being dumb, travel smart. But, when I see a man on Facebook telling women not to ever travel alone, I want to wring his neck.
Join Me on Insta
So what’s my point of all of this? Well… my point is to connect with other women who feel the same way. My point is to create a community of women who love to travel and understand it’s importance. I’m working on something really fun to launch in 2022 and if you want to be in the loop, head to insta. It’s where I’ll be talking about it the most.
In the mean time, make sure you snag my bucket list for female travelers below!
