Ridiculous Opinions #245
Hello on this Saturday!
I’ve been thinking about travel as of late. When I grew up, I was scared. I was scared of a lot of things, but mainly what I think I had was ANXIETY, which is what I feel the TikTok generation would self-diagnose it as. I felt a lot of anxiety about doing things and getting out of my comfort zone. I remember the days when driving from Tahlequah (my hometown) to Tulsa (the big city) would literally scare the crap out of me.
They drive crazy up there! I would think. There’s probably 300,000 people that live in that town!
This anxiety prevented me from doing a lot of things in my youth. I knew that I wanted to do things, but working up the nerve to conquer The Fear of Doing the Thing I Wanted to Do was just too much for me. Thus, I would choose to stay home.
My first plane flight wasn’t until I was sixteen years old, and I only took one after that until I was twenty-two. Many things prevented me from living a full life through those years, but one major factor was just a complete FEAR of doing those things.
I bring this up as a way to praise my own daughters. Right now, Harper is studying at a university in Japan near Osaka and she appears to be having the time of her life.
Simultaneously, Abbey is traipsing around both Bangkok and Khao Lak in Thailand, detoxing from her year at school.
The notion that these two young women, MY DAUGHTERS, could view the world as their playground fills me with joy. It’s so much more than I was ever able to do at their age and it makes me feel that we’ve at least done something right as parents. Whatever issues they might have, they’re still doing something that 99% of the world’s population would not do at their age.
Our daughters have always been an interesting genetic mix of both Tracey and myself and it’s fascinating. But I can say that they got their spirit for adventure and travel from their mother, who is infinitely more curious about the world than I have ever been. She has dragged me to places that I never would have gone…
…Roused us from our rooms to roam through neighborhoods that we would have never explored…
…And instilled in all of us a desire to do new things and have new experiences. For that, I am and forever will be eternally grateful.
And the glorious part about being a parent is knowing that my daughters have inherited this as well. They’ve learned that the world is meant to be explored and not a place to hide or insulate yourself from. Hell, even my mom and my sister are out in the middle of nowhere!
So, here’s to exploration! May it continue to flourish, both intellectually and practically, in the Family Girdner and hopefully in yours as well!
