Interesting.

(Edit: I was going to post this tomorrow, but I have to leave for the weekend now and have no time to blog today. So, most likely there will be no blog tomorrow. This is a post I want lots of conversation on, though, so I've decided I would rather have this sit here for two days than crank out a poop blog now. Have a great weekend!)

I genuinely, honestly believe every human is equally interesting.

Now let's talk about that sentence. (You honestly didn't think I would let that go without at LEAST three long and exhausting paragraphs of explanation, did you?!)

Last summer I was talking to a girl about my plans for this year, including my plans (now non-existent) of going to Greece this summer. Her response was, "Allyson, you're such an interesting person!" I kind of just tilted my head like dogs to when they're particularly curious. Me? Interesting? How am I any more interesting than the next person?


It seems like, in our society, people who travel a lot and are able to visit many different countries instantly become more "interesting" to others and like they have "accomplished" more in their lives. I often feel behind in every aspect of my life. Behind on the things I've accomplished. Behind on the direction on my career. Behind on experiences. Behind on places I've been. It seems like every college student is going to every country and their neighbor for every reason. All the time. I began to almost feel like if I didn't have an experience like this pronto I would somehow not be as interesting or accomplished as these people.


Last fall as I was contemplating a lot of seemingly large life decisions, it was looking more and more like studying abroad and mission trips oversees were not in my immediate future. Personally, I was okay with this, because I know there will be plenty more opportunities, but I was concerned about being "interesting" to other people. And this bothered me. What if I never leave the country during my entire four (five?) years of college? Everyone else leads so much more interesting lives than I!

This is a silly, stupid thought.

You know when you get stubborn about your problems and you get in your head that nothing anyone is going to say can make you feel better/ change your opinion? But then you hear someone say something from a direction you've never thought about before, and you just go, "Oh. Wait, that makes... a lot of sense!" I was whining about this traveling thing to a good friend here (from whom I have grown and learned a lot) and he said, "Allyson, a man who has never left his town of 300 people could be way more interesting and influential than a man who has been to every country and back."

Whoa.

Whoa.

How true is that statement?! Everyone has stories to tell. Just because they take place in foreign countries doesn't mean they are more exciting or made more of an impact on someone or something. Take advantage of everything. Strive to accomplish what you expect to receive from a journey to a foreign country right in your backyard. I know you can't see the Eiffel Tower or ski on the Alps, but there are endless amounts of experiences here just waiting for you. You just have to want them.

So, I still want to travel. I want to travel to be inspired. I want to travel for new experiences. I want to travel to help. But I don't want to... we don't need to... travel to become more interesting or complex or accomplished as a person.

That we can do riiiight here. Well, maybe I should get off this chair.