Travel like a 12 year old
“You are a goof,” Ali tells me 100 times on average a day. Ok, maybe I am. I like strange things and sometimes find reality a bit too drab and constraining.
So what the heck does this have to do with traveling?
I love Calvin and Hobbes comics. There is a wonderful way that Calvin sees the world that is both deep and childish. This is kind of how I want to see the world and how I want to explore it. I say 12 year old, because I still laugh at jokes from that age’s mindset. Farts and such are still giggle-worthy.
I want to feel the coolness of being in a place. To stand on the rock in Athens where Apostle Paul gave a sermon was like that. Walking around Rome and especially the Colosseum was like that too. Ok, so maybe I am a history obsessed 12 year old. Those exist right? Right?
I want to experience wonder! I want to be intrigued by colors and shapes and smells. The more I allow myself to sink into “daily life” the more I feel that I lose this. I want to get back to to it.
Seeing the world with a child’s mind
As a child, things are so new that they are cool. As you grow up, familiarity breeds disinterest. Certainly this is almost a defense mechanism, if every single experience was as intense as the first time I am sure we would burnout much quicker. But man it would be a bright burn.
Maybe the concept of traveling like a 12 year old intrigues me because that is the first time I traveled internationally. My dad took us to England for 2 weeks when I was that age. Oh it was a miserable trip in some respects. I hurt my nose walking into a mirror in Waterloo station. I hated the food too. And yet somehow I still remember the coolness of being Elsewhere.
The anxious misery fades into memory and the coolness remains. Maybe that too is what I am looking to keep hold of. That ability to get through the misery and hold onto the fun and wonder.
Oh, and still be able to giggle at farts. That is very important.
March 12, 2014 @ 4:33 pm
Excellent post! I also think journeying is a fantastic way to see the globe like a kid again. Traveling can create the globe seem so new and interesting again. Thanks to provide this amazing content. I really experienced to study this article.
January 28, 2014 @ 7:30 am
I enjoyed your photos and delightful story. When Ali gets tired of traveling with you, I will take her place. lol Happy traveling. 45 years ago I traveled alone in Spain. I learned to put my trust in people for help/advise. There are a lot of wonderful people to meet; some are even relatives!
February 6, 2014 @ 5:47 am
Ali is not the one that will likely get tired first, I will.
Trust is hard sometimes, especially when communication is more difficult. I am learning though.
January 18, 2014 @ 10:19 am
Travel really helped me break down my barriers and discover my childlike wonder again. I think traveling opens you up to adventure and an air of care free attitude that isn’t found at home. Stay goofy friend!
January 19, 2014 @ 7:25 am
Indeed. It does seem to help remove that dullness of being in the same routine.
January 14, 2014 @ 7:44 am
I love your life style.
Keep on doing the same thing.
January 19, 2014 @ 7:25 am
Thanks.
January 14, 2014 @ 6:02 am
Great post! I also think traveling is a great way to see the world like a child again. Traveling can make the world seem so new and exciting again.
January 19, 2014 @ 7:26 am
Yeah, and really if you see things as wonderous and interesting, they are less likely to be annoying and shrill.
October 1, 2013 @ 11:04 pm
Best travel advice ever!
September 28, 2013 @ 11:09 pm
Great advice, Andrew. We travelled the age we felt, 17, for many years. Now we’re feeling a tad older, but travelling with boys aged 13, 10, and 3 keeps us young at heart.
September 29, 2013 @ 12:06 pm
I guess my term of “travel like a 12 year old” has really less to do with the actual age. I use it as a reminder to look at the world with an open mind and enjoy wonderment.
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I am usually way more than a little comic relief.
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