I agree whole-heartedly with Ryan Holiday’s take on Didion’s quote. I consider myself extremely fortunate about my travel experiences thus far. Indeed, I would even say I am relatively well traveled. That said, most of my close friends have seen more of the world that I have.

I didn’t really travel beyond California until I was in college. I roadtripped with parents once to southern California. Freshmen year I drove out with a friend to Utah. It wasn’t until I went to England for my junior year abroad that I really ‘traveled.’ Luckily, I was able to see a lot of Europe that year. Besides the big cities, I have very fond memories of Bedous, France and Korfu Island, Greece. Since then, memorable places I’ve visited include Chang Mai, Thailand and driving the Al-Can Highway from Portland up to Anchorage.

Having friends that are so well traveled helps keep the travel bug alive. Hearing about their advantures motivates me to keep checking places off my list. My Top 5 list at the moment (it is always changing, of course) of places I want to visit include: 1) Quebec City 2) Nova Scotia 3) Copenhagen 4) Sydney and 5) Anywhere in New Zealand.

Thinking about traveling, I realize there are certain parts of the world I’m just not that interested in visiting. I don’t know what that says about me, but it’s true. I suppose I wouln’t ever turn down an opportunity to go to one of these places, but with so many places to visit, there are definitely tiers of interest that are real for me.

Didion’s quote also lands because it connects with parenting in my mind. I feel like it is a duty of a parent to try and expose their children to as much travel as they can afford. The reason, in my mind, is connected with the argument Holiday was making with Didion’s quote in his book about wisdom. Specifically, seeing other parts of the world, experiencing other cultures, and meeting different people all help us become more wise as we become less insular.