Travel: What it Means to Me
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Branden Morgan
Travel: What it means to me
By: Branden Morgan
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness…”- Mark Twain
As a child, I was fortunate enough to go on a few trips a year with my parents and older brother. When the destination was not a fly over state that contained some distant relative, it was usually a beach vacation either somewhere in Mexico, or a cruise ship with several stops in the Caribbean. While I did enjoy meeting third cousins that I would never see again, I always looked forward to the more exotic locations with warmer weather. Not because it was nice to lounge in an Adirondack with sand between my toes, but because it was always an adventure with my dad at the helm.
We never did any organized excursions through the concierge, nor did we sign up to get on a crowded bus with 150 of our newest friends only to be ushered through tourist hotspots like cattle. We always struck out on our own, either on foot or a rented 4x4 to see what we could get into. We would ask what our plan was for the following day, and my father would usually say “Let’s just go mess around”. That meant wing it. And it was more often than not a terrific time. “Messing around” usually lead to the best meal we would have on the trip at some roadside vendor, finding some snorkeling spot with a mind blowing reef that no tourists were aware of, or getting so side tracked that we had to run back to our cruise ship and leap from the dock onto the boat as they had already pulled the gang plank and were ready to shove off. Sometimes it lead to things that may not have been great in the moment, but it always left us with fascinating stories to remember and share years later. Little did my father know that he had lit a spark in me that would lead to an unquenchable wanderlust I wouldn’t trade for anything.
The experiences gained in my travels to places like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have altered my life in great and terrifying ways. I learned that one cannot judge a book by it’s cover, but, you should always check the cover, always take other’s opinions of places with a grain of salt, and don’t believe everything you read. Some of the most “dangerous” places in the world are the most beautiful with the kindest people. And some of the “safest” places in the world will have you checking to see if your wallet is still in your pocket as you speed walk down creepy alleys, just hoping you make it to your hotel.
Traveling in places like Belgium and Japan will have you questioning how you lived before experiencing such abundance in culture. And efficiency. Many things in many countries just make sense, even though they are quite different than how things are done in the US. And having seen things done in a different, and arguably better way, leaves you wondering what else is out there that I have been missing this whole time. Fear of missing out hits it’s peak.
To date I have been to 23 countries with more on the agenda. My current plan is to try my hand at full time travel as soon as it is feasible. I hope to continue to be fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness as long as I can.
Written by:
Freelance writer with over 12 years of experience in Military and First Responder roles to include Fire, Police, and EMS. Firearms instructor and salesman. Hunting western big game for over 5 years. Travel enthusiast having visited 23 countries and counting. Additionally, working on pilot certifications to expand personal horizons with hopes of attaining a Commercial certification within the year.
