The white pins in the beautiful world map that Mike built for me represent the places I want to visit, but have never been. I plan to remove those pins for two reasons: firstly, it’s assumed that given the chance, I would go anywhere. The second is, sometimes lofty goals can be too daunting and they actually set me off course. It’s better to take things one step at a time.
I’ve always been a realistic person with lofty goals and both sides don’t always work well together to lead to results – so I’ve learned to scale it back – which has actually allowed me to accomplish more than I would have otherwise.
I am removing my white pins because rather than declare that I would like to visit every continent or every state in the U.S. or a certain number of cities, I have learned to build goals around the travel that I have been able to do, which in turn, has enhanced my experiences…
My most elementary accomplishment was buying a digital camera and my next goal is to become a better photographer. It is obviously important to take away visual memories of the places you visit, but chronicling a trip with photos has more importantly forced me to look at places more closely and from more than one perspective. When I bought my digital camera, Mike gave me a bunch of books he used in a class he took when he was younger. I haven’t really taken the time to read through them, but that is next on my list.
I have become disciplined with listening to my Spanish CDs – I listen to them almost everyday in the car on the way to work even when I really just want to listen to mindless chatter. My next goal is to become fluent. Picking up where I left off in college was one of the best decisions I could have made before my trip to Guatemala and El Salvador. Being forced into situations where my English didn’t help me made me realize that it is not impossible to learn and it has motivated me to keep learning.
Starting this little travel blog is probably my most important goal accomplished. My next goal is to become a better writer, to continue to take risks and to keep traveling whenever I get the chance. I have realized that for the past year or so, it has been this blog that has pushed me to make my more adventurous decisions. It is a constant that I have created that forces me to hold myself accountable for looking at the world differently and for throwing away excuses to pass up unforgettable opportunities.
I may never set my foot on every continent or in every city, but I will definitely be getting somewhere someday, equipped with a new set of appreciation, one step at a time.
I had one of those maps in college and eventually had to take it down because it was covered with SO many pins. I agree, it’s better to just go where I can if the opportunity arises.
Maxies last blog post..Would You Rather Wednesday
Brava!
I love the pin idea, but always feel like I’ve got so many places to visit and I’m never going to accomplish it all. It can be overwhelming.
Ashleys last blog post..A complete blank
Definitely take the white pins down!!! I have pretty much the same map in my office and I only put red pins on the places that I’ve been, as like you said you/I want to go EVERYWHERE!!! Me encanta con espanol, yo estudio in mi coche todos los dias tambien. Un abrazo amiga.
PS I’m giving you a shout-out on my blog today!
Hi Susan,
I’ve got a huge map on my wall, my parents just bought my a really cool one as well.
Gotta educate them from the start.
Hey, I want to invite you and your readers to join our new meme: Drinks ‘Round the World. It’s for everyone to right a cool international cocktail post every first of the month, I’d love it for you to join us.
http://www.travelexperta.com/2009/05/join-us-for-drinks-world-monthly-party.html
marina k. villatoros last blog post..Daily Costa Rica – What A View!
I can’t put pins on where I want to go, as exactly like you I want to go everywhere. But I am putting pins on the countries/states I’ve been to, so I can watch it grow. I also frame a picture from wherever I’ve been and add it to my wall of travel photography.
erin – heart in irelands last blog post..crack mints
I have a lot of maps hanging on the walls at my house with places I will go to someday. I also have many photos of places I have already been to. One day I decided that it was to difficult to look at all of the stuff from my travels because it was all cramed into a trunk. So I started a couple of blogs and I put everything from my travels on them. I think you are correct I also find that I see things differently when I travel because of my blogs! Have a great day.
Lord out.
Lord Hoxs last blog post..Stefan Raab Made of Wax
I have a map like this that Scott made for me, too. The red pins are places I’ve been, blue are places he’s been, green are places we’ve been together.
Yes, love this. Have you heard of Alain de Botton’s book, Art of Travel? I think you’d enjoy it – totally changed my perspective on BEING wherever I am—like really being there, owning it, appreciating it—and all the philosophy behind why we travel.
Shannalees last blog post..when perspectives change
[...] I’ve mentioned before, getting better at taking good photos is one of my travel goals. Above, with the help of Mike, I stumble clumsily through the settings on my Nikon Coolpix, to [...]