As we stood in the shade of the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, my roommate posed a question: why do we travel? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Why travel? Why study abroad?
Since I first found out about the Mitchell, I’ve been daydreaming about exploring Europe. I suppose that’s only natural—a rose-tinted, romanticized image of Europe is baked into so much of the media and literature I grew up with in America. After four months of living in Ireland, I’m no longer idealizing European life or travel, but visiting different cities is still a major priority for me this year. It caught me off guard that, when asked, I was unable to articulate exactly why I feel so strongly about it.
In fact, it’s easier to think of reasons not to travel. Travel disrupts my studies, messes with my (already hopeless) sleep schedule, and drains my savings account. It also exposes me to some degree of danger, as my parents are constantly reminding me in cautionary texts with links to news articles about pickpocketing, kidnapping, and plane crashes. And in my opinion, despite how it may sometimes be discussed or perceived, being well-traveled is not a virtue. I’ve also been struggling with the feeling that maybe I’m not accomplishing enough this year. Although I’m excited about my master’s thesis project, I’m spending a lot of my time exploring and relatively little time building, volunteering, and researching, compared to past years of my life. I’ve been having a lot of fun. But have I been doing a lot of good?
Despite all this, I’m planning on doing a lot more traveling in 2025 and spending more of my Mitchell stipend on RyanAir flights, train tickets, and hiking gear. There are plenty of good reasons to justify this. Visiting new places introduces us to people, sights, sounds, foods, languages, and cultures we’ve never encountered before. Still, I don’t think “cultural enrichment” fully captures why I was so eager to apply for the Mitchell, or why I’m still so keen on traveling.
The day before my flight back home for Christmas, after a grueling finals season with five written exams (each worth 60-80% of my grade) spaced out over the course of three long weeks, I took one last walk around Cork City while listening to a podcast about the neuroscience and health benefits of experiencing awe. A soundbite from a Hank Green video about the James Webb space telescope caught my attention:
“I personally believe that there are two ways to make the world a better place. You can decrease the suck, and you can increase the awesome. It’s clear that decreasing suck is extremely important – probably, in the end, more important than increasing awesome. And thus, when I talk about the space program, people are always like, ‘NASA’s money could be better spent on services for humanity!’ And to them, I say: I do not want to live in a world where we only focus on suck and never think about awesome . . . We have to try and prevent bad things from happening, but we also have to make good things happen. And that is why I love the James Webb Space Telescope.”
I think that this is a fun and valid point in favor of investing in space (and ocean) exploration, but also a pretty good guide on how to live to the fullest—and a good argument for why travel is so valuable. Decreasing suffering and solving problems is important, but experiencing awe and wonder make life worthwhile. When we were walking through the Louvre, my little sister commented on how “extravagant and unnecessary” the excessive gold decorations and carvings in the Galerie d’Apollon were. Surely all that wealth could have been used to feed the people of France? She had a point, but the gallery was truly awesome to behold. I’m so glad to live in a world where people do extravagant, unnecessary, and awe-inspiring things, and I’m grateful that I get to see them. Traveling reminds me that the world is a vast and awesome place! I’m pretty easily enthused, in general, but some of the things I’ve seen and heard this year have left me stunned.
So, I think it’s alright that this year is more about exploration than productivity for me. I want to maximize the awe and wonder that I feel in my daily life! I think that this pursuit has driven all of my best life decisions, including my career path, the friends I’ve chosen, my hobbies, applying for the Mitchell, and going on so many trips this year. I want to be amazed and delighted by all the beautiful art, music, inventions, and nature in the world. And, somewhat paradoxically, these are the things that inspire me to want to do research, make cool stuff, and be “productive” anyway.
My favorite word is wonderfilled—a made-up word from an Oreo commercial featuring a super catchy original song by Owl City meaning “filled with wonder.” (Not to be confused or interchanged with the word “wonderful,” which I think has been overused to the point of losing its flavor.) Here are a few of the things from my travels that have made the past few months so wonderfilled:
Ocean views from Portugal and a wall decorated with paper sardines by past visitors at the hostel I stayed in:
“Sonic creatures” created in the VR Sonotopia Lab at the unique and highly interactive Haus der Musik (House of Music) in Vienna:
An amazing concert at the Wiener Musikverein Golden Hall! I have no pictures, but here’s the applause after one of the pieces:
The “UFO observation tower” in Bratislava that I stood at the top of, built on a bridge over the Danube River:
My trip to Paris with my little sister:
And the accordionist we heard in the tunnels under the Arc de Triomphe:
It was also great to spend the holidays back home in Oregon with my friends and family. (I miss you guys already!) But it is nice to be back in Ireland. Each time I return to Cork from a trip, it feels a little more like home. I really do like living here, and I’m excited to visit Belfast, Galway, and West Cork later this year.
Finally, although I’m incredibly grateful (and still in disbelief, honestly) that I’ve been able to travel internationally because of the Mitchell, a lot of the things that have brought me joy haven’t been very extravagant. Drinks and jokes with friends, a hot dog drowning in ketchup, street musicians, rain, ice cream. These things exist pretty much everywhere, and I’ll keep seeking them out even after this crazy year of travel comes to an end.