Throughout my life, I have been traveling with my parents. From Costa Rica, Mexico, and Italy, to almost half the States in the U.S. Each place has different cultures and ideas. Being fortunate enough to visit many places has been a mind-opening experience. Travel is mind-opening.

Constantly being in the same social settings with the same people and the same values limits potential knowledge. Experiencing different cultures can change mindsets and how one approaches their own life. Seeing the ways other people live in other places has shown me that my beliefs are not facts, but rather just opinions that are based on previous biases. When I am in a different place, I can look into other ways of life and see why others believe different things than I do. After years of traveling, I have realized that there is more than one valid point of view. 

Being stuck in what I call the Hudsonville Bubble, where the majority of people have the same views, leads to no new exposure of opinions. An eye-opening experience for me was when I traveled to Virginia. When driving to our destination, we passed through some extremely poor areas. The houses were crumbling and trash littered the yards. My aunt who lived in a different area of Virginia told me about a time when she was doing social work in a community similar to the one I drove through and how the people she worked with were poor and uneducated which became increasingly evident when she found out a lot of the citizens participated in inbreeding. Here in Hudsonville, we may joke about Southerners inbreeding but it was shocking to find out it actually happens. This experience made me question what other things happen that I am unaware of. Traveling has taught me to not be as naive to situations around me. If other Hudsonville students don’t get the opportunity to travel and get exposure to these circumstances, then they may not be as knowledgeable and open-minded. 

A way to fix this is traveling to new places, which I know is easier said than done, but if an opportunity arises, take it. Expand your knowledge and your mindfulness, it is worth it. Having an open mind will lead to a successful life with successful relationships. Overall, traveling is mind-opening.