“The sun and the moon are eternal voyagers; the years that come and go are travelers too. For those whose lives float away on boats, for those who greet old age with hands clasping the lead ropes of horses, travel is life, travel is home. And many are the men of old who have perished as they journeyed. I myself fell prey to wanderlust some years ago, desiring nothing better than to be a vagrant cloud scudding before the wind.” – from Matsuo Basho’s “The Narrow Road of the Interior”

Travel is home. I understand that. It’s in me. It fuels many of my actions. I read “The Narrow Road of the Interior” for my World Lit class and I couldn’t help but feel like I was reading about myself. To wander, is to be free. Anything less leaves you feeling trapped and suffocated by conformity. I think that is what drives my need for constant relocation. You see “normal” isn’t really my thing. I dont like it. These days, its cool to be different, which is great, but I still feel like everyone is being the same different person. I think its time to really be yourself. Or myself. Whatever that means. So. Who am I? I’m not entirely sure. But life is about finding out isn’t it? This is what I found out today: I’m a nomad. I always knew this, I just had never put it into words. Yes, I love to travel, but its more than that. Its not just something I like to do, its something I am. As I thought about this today, I felt guilty, like I was being selfish. But then I realized something. God made me this way for a reason. He instilled in me this passion for new places. A passion to see his glory in the wonder of a mountain and the beauty of a cathedral. But that’s not all. God also instilled in me a passion for people. I love to help people, but again, it’s more than that. It’s who I am. I want to reach the unreachable and to truly touch the untouchable, wherever they may be. Wandering is my heart. Because it is in wandering that I find God. He speaks to me through the clouds floating outside an airplane window, the deep brown eyes of an orphan child, and the golden gates of a beautiful palace. This is where I find my peace. Travel is home.

“All good things are wild, and free.” -Henry David Thoreau