Evolution of Reasons to Travel Part 2: Sounds of a Moment

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.

Do you hear that…? The sound of a moment?

The sound of laughter and play, tears and despair, rushing and chaos, music and cheers, screaming and fear, joy and harmony… describe it as you please.

The sound of moments are unique for us all. Our own perspective, the people we surround ourselves with, our environment and attitude all influence these sounds; and they are forever changing. At the time of occurrence it may be a deafening alarm warning us that we are not going to make it. Then it may be accompanied by a gentle hum of consolation from a close relation. After time it may develop into a soft sob when heard or a low chuckle when in retrospect we realize how much we had overreacted to that initial alarm. Sometimes the sounds of these moments may even be silenced because they are no longer significant in our lives.

What alters these sounds? The moment didn’t change. So what did?

Last post I started explaining reasons behind traveling. The adventure, the fun, the memories, and more importantly, the people you meet. We all have people who are integral parts of our lives that we couldn’t imagine any major moments about; who we don’t see often, but once reunited it’s as if no time passed at all; or a person we had a single conversation with that gave us new insight or a word of advice that we kept with us.

When we travel we meet more people who give us these new insights and advice. The thing is, more often than not, they won’t even realize they’re helping us. People that live somewhere other than we do have grown up differently, have experienced different traditions, overcome different trials, eaten different foods, learned different lessons, and so on.

We can often believe we’re open minded, but sometimes we don’t realize how much more there is to learn. When I was taking a research methods class while receiving my bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology I had a professor who described how his desire for research grew. He reminded us that he was once in our shoes and at first didn’t think there was much left to research in regards to exercise. However, the more and more education he received, the more and more he learned how much he truly didn’t know. The opportunities for research were endless and the more he learned, the more he realized how slim his wealth of knowledge actually was.

Sounds pretty contradictory, doesn’t it? But it’s so true, and this applies to every day life as well! Learning influences how we interpret stories, react to events, treat people, determine our political views, form personal philosophies on life, and absolutely everything!

My simple move to Pittsburgh to study for my master’s allowed me to meet more people who shaped my opinions on what I wanted to do with my own future. Reading research articles for my classes gave me more insight about how other people live; for example, those in different geographical areas or those with socioeconomic statuses differing from my own. Eventually, I made the decision to not continue my education to obtain my PhD right away, but instead I would travel first. I would enjoy my time, have adventures, learn more, and then decide exactly what I wanted to study.

My new plan was to live at home for a year in order to save money and study Spanish. Once that year was complete I would move to Costa Rica and work on a farm for 4 months. This way I could immerse myself in Spanish, in turn, I could increase the amount of people I could interact with. As for the farm, I desired to gain experience on how other people live because I feel like there is only so much you can learn from reading and listening, you need to actually experience what other people do to fully understand it. Thereafter, I would continue to backpack South America. After that? Who knows. It was a mystery to me.

So what happened?

I had a night where I couldn’t sleep very well. Usually at night if I wake up I check the time on my phone, but if I have any messages I usually ignore them so I don’t get distracted and can attempt to fall asleep again. However, on this particular night I saw I had received a message from my friend from Sweden. I had to answer! I hadn’t talked to her for a while so I was really excited. The message said, “Hi. I know this is a long shot, but would you ever consider moving to Sweden to coach?” The sound of this moment is a gasp, followed by my body tossing and turning in a bed, and an occasional exclamation about how I didn’t speak Swedish.

Why Sweden? Why not stick with the original plan?

When I spoke to my Swedish friend I gained an incredible amount of knowledge and changed some of my own perspectives. I couldn’t stop imagining the possibilities of what I would learn being in Sweden! Plus, coaching! A part of me had always wanted to be a coach. I had a passion for swimming, I had the proper education to train people, I would be helping people, and I would always be on the pool deck. I had so much to learn and so much to give! As for Sweden, all I knew is that it rained a lot, they had some nasty fruit they turned into a soup (rosehip), and I had an amazing friend living there! I would have to go at least another year without seeing that beautiful Nevada sky, but in the end it would be worth it.

I applied for the job and in the end I was offered the position. I landed in Gothenburg January 19 and have been here ever since. I was correct in assuming that I would learn a lot. However, I did not know to the extent. As I mentioned earlier, you can never truly appreciate something until you experience it yourself. This was the case of my journey in Sweden.

I will go into details about what I have learned though the course of the blog. For now, I have reached my goal of expressing my reasons to travel and how they have evolved from the initial thrills and excitement to the opportunity of meeting new people to recognizing what you haven’t been exposed to in the world, self discovery, realizing values, and encountering new passions.

I have confirmed some beliefs that I have held on strong to for as long as I can remember and I have also resorted some priorities. For one thing, Costa Rica will be put on hold. My next stop will hopefully be South Africa. I found a volunteer program there whose efforts go toward preventing HIV through spreading education, sport participation, and art. I want to be part of that. I want to make a difference. I want to acquire even more perspectives. I don’t want to be naive about what is going on in this world, I want to give back to this world that has already given me so much. I cannot wait to hear the sound of the moments in the next journey, but I’m not rushing to get there. I’m going to grow from all of the moments in Gothenburg first and remember their sounds.

What sounds do you want ringing in your ears? Monotonous moments of tick tock, tick tock? Or the sound of “Eye of the Tiger” because you know you experienced something great? You can of course accomplish these moments without traveling, but I believe  they can be increased and enriched so much more by traveling. So please, do yourself a favor and expose yourself to the world! Go out and see what it has to offer! Grace everyone you meet with your own presence! The world has not met you yet! So why not get out there and show the world your beauty!? Go for it! Enjoy!