on traveling.

I'm always tempted to say that everybody should travel at some point. But I'm not entirely sure that's true. I've done a small bit of traveling and reaped the benefits, but I'm not positive its for everyone. One glance at twitter, facebook, or any of the other social media giants, however, and it would seem like everybody and their uncle is out traveling the world, putting pins in maps and collecting stories to tell when they get back. But that doesn't seem to be the case in real life. Which begs an interesting question, why are so few people doing it, if so many have the desire?
There are a plethora of typical response that I would expect to hear, and I could rant for days on how little money you need, how little time it takes, how easy it is to get started, and how "real life" will be here when you get back. But I'll save my breath, as I don't expect to really be changing anybody's minds. Which is fine. Maybe instead of traveling the world, people should simply crawl out of their comfort zones. For me, that meant living in Spain. For others that could mean something completely different. The point here is that comfort and growth are rarely, if ever, experienced together. We should always be growing. Always learning.
I have a friend who has a habit of asking odd questions to people he is just meeting. He will delve very quickly below the surface and ask about a persons dreams, aspirations, and passions. He'll dig around to discover who they are in ways that make may people very uncomfortable. One question that he is particularly fond of is "what is your greatest fear?". I Once asked him the same question and his response fascinated me.

"My greatest fear is that I will one day stop growing"

It was interesting to me, because I believe if we're honest with ourselves, many of us have the opposite fear. We are scared to grow. Change intimidates us. It makes us uncomfortable. It's why I always order the same thing at taco bell and it's why graduating high school and moving out is hard. But as hard as it is, crawling outside of our beloved comfort zones is not only good for you, it's necessary.
When I was in Rome I met an Australian guy named Van who was staying in the same hostel as I was. We ended up spending a decent amount of time hanging out and swapping stories about our travels. We had come from very different backgrounds and from, quite literally, opposite sides of earth. Regardless, we found that there were some aspects to our travels that were strikingly similar. Namely the plane ticket. That first big step. Buying the first plane ticket was one of the most nerve racking things we'd had to do. After that, we were committed. Things never really got easy, but the hardest part of the whole trip was that initial step where we had to actually step outside of the experiences we had been imagining and planning and go live them. We left our comfort zones thousands of miles away and the things that seemed scary and strange simply became the next adventure.
For me in particular, I had numerous instances in which I seemed to be knee deep in it with no idea how to get out. But those are the very same instances that I would point to as being not only the most fun and memorable, but the situations that I learned the most from. I developed confidence to handle whatever life would throw at me. I worked through problems, I learned to rely on myself when I had to and to seek help when I needed it, I discovered how to communicate without a common language, I made friends in all corners of the globe, I found out what my faith looks like when I'm alone, and I collected a hand full of memories that I wouldn't trade for the world.
So yes, traveling holds incredible value as a life experience. But not everybody will have the means or the desire to share these types of experiences. And that's okay. But if it's not traveling, make sure it's something else. Whoever you are, wherever your life is headed, make sure you're uncomfortable with it. Don't be afraid of growth, be afraid of a dormant life. Because a dormant life is a wasted life. If we aren't growing in ourselves, and most importantly growing in our faith and our savior, then what are we really doing with our lives?