Travel Inspiration

July 19th, 2009 · 4 Comments

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that plants a seed in someone to want to travel. Maybe there’s an adventurous gene out there. More often than not places are sought out based on friends’ recommendations, books, movies, tv shows, posters and those alluring pictures on Flickr. I know my fascination with Istanbul – which I haven’t been to yet – was planted from a consumer marketing class that discussed the bazaars, and then there was my art and theology class that discussed the architecture. I even read a book by a famous Turkish author to only further whet my palette for the city. Whether there’s a certain chain of events that drives me to seek a place, like my fascination with Istanbul, or no particular reason I can pinpoint, there definitely exists a constant longing to see the world over. While Robert Frost’s poem may be cliché and far over used, it has always struck a chord for me (and I used it in more than one high school project). Despite the places that I want to see, this poem serves as a reminder to never stop exploring…and to always take the road less traveled. Every time I read it, it never ceases to stop triggering the inspiration to travel that runs through my blood. If you haven’t read it in awhile, it’s here below.

What inspires you to travel?

Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

1. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

. Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

. And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

. I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Tags: travel

4 responses so far ↓

1 Anil // Jul 20, 2009 at 4:22 pm

I think what really got me going was traveling so much as a child. I just can’t see things any other way.
2 Helen Todd // Jul 20, 2009 at 7:50 pm

@Anil – I definitely think once the travel seed is planted, it’s hard to separate yourself from it! The sooner you start the more deeply rooted it is. Thanks for sharing!
3 Fly Girl // Jul 23, 2009 at 10:07 am

This post really gets me thinking! I think that my love of travel was also planted early, watching my grandmother journey to every continent when I was a child. As I got older, I think it was my interest in exploring other cultures. I love diving into a place’s history, customs and food.
4 Helen Todd // Nov 3, 2009 at 12:02 am

That’s amazing that your grandmother inspired you to travel! And I’m with you about exploring cultures and food! Thanks for sharing!