Education for Living

When I was a kid my mom would say "you and your sisters came out 99% baked, I just help push you in the right direction." Now that I have my own kids, I see what she meant. I couldn't have dreamed up my kids if I tried; both their personalities are such complete and utter surprises to me that sometimes I'm mystified at where they might have come from. Yet I can also see them changing in front of me - pushing boundaries, learning lessons, and adapting.

It would seem that who we are is less about nature vs. nurture and more about what we make of the balance between the two. We each get a say in who we become. So how do we do a good job? How do we take what we're given and grow to become the people we want to be and the people others deserve from us?

There are many paths we might choose in this pursuit, but ultimately humility is the foundation we seek. With each step we take outside the boundaries of our own comfort, we establish and build upon that foundation. And what better way to expand our horizons than to literally step outside and journey somewhere new?

The greatest gift of travel is humility. Humility builds resilience. Resilience enables tolerance, which makes space for connection and understanding. That in turn fosters compassion. Compassion begets love. Love inspires peace.

You see where I'm going with this.

Humility

When we live each day absorbed in our own reality, it's easy to get wrapped up in the gravity of it. It feels like our lives are a universe of their own.

Traveling pulls us out of that overwhelming self-orbit. It's comforting to be reminded how much of life has nothing to do with us - that we're not as important or special as we thought. That things which feel personal often aren't about us at all. It takes the pressure off. Gives us perspective that ultimately helps us build the emotional stamina we need to take difficult things in stride.

Resilience

Resilience doesn't mean we don't fall down. Resilience means that when we fall down we don't break - or at least we don't break easily. We get back up. We invite healing. We embrace curiosity and pursue learning. We don't give into fear or put up unnecessary walls. We find strength in vulnerability. We bend and sway instead of snapping.

We don't learn resilience without exposing ourselves to the harsh things in life that create a need for it. When we travel, our resilience gets tested. We can't read the menu; we miss our train; we take a wrong turn down a dark alley. But we figure it out - often because there is no other option. Rolling with life's punches is a skill that can be learned. Some may have a natural knack for it, but resilience is a trait we all must hone.

Tolerance, Connection, & Understanding

Anthony Bourdain said, "travel is not a reward for working, it's education for living." And of

course, the travel guru himself was right. If narrow-mindedness is the disease, travel is the medicine. Travel is a celebration of the unfamiliar. Experiencing something new is exhilarating when so much of our time is spent in routine. When we travel, we choose to break out of patterns and see what happens. It can be intimidating - especially when the world feels scary. Being a guest in someone else's homeland forces us to be brave and tolerate discomfort. But the thrill of something new is a draw often strong enough to make the risk worth the gamble.

Sometimes the benefit and the cost are in balance - as we hope they will be - and sometimes they are not. And yet, the most memorable trips tend to be the hardest ones. The ones that, in the moment, we wish would be over. We learn to rely on people we don't know and to trust things we don't at first understand. We learn that it's okay to feel stupid - and that strangers can be our heroes (like the man who rescued me and my sister from the wrong bus stop in Trieste, but that's a story for another time). We learn to slow down and ask questions before judging or reacting. We learn that strange things aren't necessarily dangerous things. Ultimately what will stick with us is the pride of making it through and the gratitude for the people who helped us do it.

Compassion & Love

I live in Minneapolis where we are no strangers to cultural exchange. This is thanks in part to our long history as one of the highest ranking states for refugee resettlement in the U.S. per capita. Thanks to inclusive public programs and robust support networks, Minnesota has long been an appealing destination for refugees and immigrants from around the world.

We in Minnesota also benefit from a constant reminder that we are all immigrants as we live and work in the homeland of the Dakota and Anishinaabe, which today makes up one of the largest urban populations of indigenous peoples in the U.S.

Living in Minneapolis, the reward of cross-cultural connection is self-evident. And it’s a reminder that the ultimate goal of travel isn't just to see a distant city, but to influence how we show up in our own.

This past winter, that reminder proved critical. When ICE descended upon our community, they saw statistics and threats where we knew neighbors and equals. They leveraged fear to brutalize people and rip families apart. But a compassionate community doesn't fracture easily.

We used the skills travel teaches - understanding across language barriers, resilience in the face of challenges, and the humility to ask for and offer help - to build a resistance rooted in love. Neighbors patrolled streets, delivered groceries, and drove kids to school. And in that shared vulnerability, we found that compassion isn't just a feeling; it’s a form of logistics. It’s showing up. It’s action on the knowledge that a threat to one of us is a threat to all of us.

Peace

Where there is love and compassion there can be peace. When we find humility and use it as our guide, we become the people we need and want to be. We find hope where there is difficulty, beauty where there is fear, opportunity where there is anxiety, love where there is hate.

Peace, then, is not a gift we wait to receive; it is a personal responsibility we practice. It is a skill built with every missed train, every shared meal with a stranger, and every uncomfortable conversation. A skill we build by choosing to stay open when it would be easier to close off. An education we build a life upon.

Maybe my mom was right. Maybe we do come out 99% baked, but that final one percent is where magic happens. It’s the portion of our souls that we have to finish ourselves through experience and openness. We can choose to stay within the boundaries of our own comfort, or we can step out into the world and let it shape us.

Travel is a key to that final transformation. It turns our narrow orbits into wide horizons and our fear into a foundation for love. It may not be the only way to find peace, but if the key is in your hand - take it. The world is waiting to show you who you could become.

Sources: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, 2026; The Decolonial Atlas, 2018; Minnesota Compass, 2025