Why I travel…

February 26, 2025

Hello. Bonjour. Buenos Días. Xin chào. My name is Deb. Many have asked, “Why I travel,” a question I have asked myself multiple times, “Why do I travel?” I’ve been planning adventures since I was 15, and that was quite a while ago.

I’ve been a writer from the age of ten, when I wrote a play for the neighborhood kids. Since then, I’ve created content for magazines, completed, but not yet published, a memoir, and have started writing a novel. Several of my friends have hounded me to start a blog about travel or dating. I finally listened and chose the topic that has been more successful for me!

My preoccupation with travel began with a high school trip to Rome that included an emotional visit to the Vatican, and continued to Amsterdam, and Lucerne, Switzerland. Our voyage was conducted under the mostly diligent supervision of our dear nuns. I didn’t share what the “mostly” meant with my parents until many years later. That spring break experience changed me. Since then, I have used just about every waking moment, fantasizing about my next escape. https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Newark-Airport-EWR/Rome?search=Newark-Airport-EWR,Rome,Canton-of-Lucerne,Amsterdam,Newark-Airport-EWR#trips

I began college with the intention of becoming an attorney, but a small detail altered my path. After determining my required courses for the second semester of my freshman year, I was able to choose an elective. I’d always loved languages, having studied Latin and Spanish already, so I opted to add French to my university schedule. I fell in love with the language, switched my major, started looking for travel buddies.

Looking back, it seems strange that I knew not a soul who had traveled out of the United States, other than the small group of girls from my high school trip. After failing to convince my college friends to backpack through Europe with me, I seized an opportunity when I eavesdropped on a conversation between two girls I didn’t know. Never shy, I interrupted politely, introduced myself, and asked more about the trip they were planning. I invited myself on this trip between best friends, and was immediately accepted. I know I should stop listening to private conversations, but this resulted in six weeks of blissful chaos, and remains the travel experience I compare everything to.

Graduation happened, and life happened, with jobs, kids, health issues. Travel was always the bright spot. It has exaggerated happy times, and just the idea of it has saved me during the challenging ones.

I hope to inspire you with my perspective about how great it is to be in places where, “you don’t know the drill.”

Happy wandering!

Deb