I wasn't born a traveler-I became one.
Growing up, my idea of travel was piling into the family station wagon for our annual trip to Virginia Beach. I didn't get my first passport until I was an adult. For much of my life, I saw the wider world through books, movies, and television. It simply never occurred to me that I could go see it for myself.
As I got older, I met peers who were traveling to places I had only heard about, and it dawned on me: I could go, too.
So I did.
Motherhood, a busy career, and an already-full life gave me plenty of reasons not to travel. But seeing more of the world mattered to me, so I made room for it-and I haven't looked back.
These days, I'm a certified travel addict. If I'm not traveling, I'm probably researching a destination, building an itinerary, reminiscing about somewhere I've been, or dreaming about somewhere I haven't. I have detailed plans for every trip I take-and quite a few I haven't booked yet.
In other words, I'm Ever Elsewhere.
I've learned more about the world-and myself-through travel than from any book I've read or classroom I've sat in (and there have been plenty of both). Travel challenges your assumptions. It teaches you there's rarely one "right" way to do things, no single "best" place to live, and that wherever we are in the world, we're far more alike than different.
That's why I so strongly believe in traveling however and whenever you can. Take your kids. Go when you're young. Go when you're old. Travel one state over or to the other side of the world. Stay in a five-star hotel or take a road trip.
You don't have to grow up traveling. You don't have to know exactly what you're doing. And you don't have to travel like anyone else.
Travel the way you can. Just go.
I hope the stories and practical advice I share here inspire you to see more of the world-and give you the confidence to do it.
As for me, I'll be Ever Elsewhere. But you can always find my thoughts here.