Experiencing the world from a different view

I believe that everyone should take the opportunity to travel as much as they can to different places to learn different cultures, experience different climates, and to view the beautiful world through their own eyes, not just through magazines and television screens. The world is beautiful, full of breathtaking sights and insightful people with different customs and traditions, and a lot can be experienced right here in the United States.
Growing up as a military brat I was able to travel to many places in the United States as well as overseas. I believe I am more open and accepting to change as a result of growing up the child of a father active in the Air Force. When living in different places, I was exposed to different climates, cultures, and ways of life. In a car ride from Alabama to California my family and I traveled through the dry plains not seeing a tree for hundreds of miles, through intimidating Rocky Mountains that elevate hundreds of feet above sea level, and through massive hills of desert sand, something I did not even know existed in the United States at that moment in time. I’ve been exposed to the rainy tropics of Hawaii and had the opportunity of hiking up Diamond Head Mountain so that I could view the island from above. I experienced the customs and traditions of the Chamarros, the natives of Guam, a U.S. territory. I learned to respect their beliefs, learned their language, and even learned how to cook some of their native foods, much of which consisted of coconuts. I’ve been exposed to the snow storms in South Dakota and the bone chilling temperatures falling well below zero. South Dakota also offered the rocky ancient Badlands and Mount Rushmore.
Because I have had the opportunity to move to different places I feel that I am better able to adjust in different settings whether it be a social, climate, or environmental adjustment. I can better tolerate change, and I am more willing to accept others for who they are and for what they believe in and find important in their lives. I also believe that each move was educational and provided me with knowledge about the environment as well as about other traditions and beliefs that I would not have likely learned elsewhere.
The sun glistening off of the snow, the waterfalls falling gently in the rain forest, the black sand beaches, the legends and traditions of other people, are all apart of our world that can’t be seen from the comfort of one spot. I believe everyone should experience and embrace the beauty that lies outside of his or her own geographic location.