Needs

Traveling alone for twelve days with only a small backpack and a tight budget forces one to think of human needs in a new way. Once the mindset is formed not to travel for the sake of a vacation but to immerse oneself in new cultures and really try to understand the people, there is a feeling of legitimate purpose outside of oneself. The journey no longer revolves around enjoying oneself through luxuries and security. It becomes an eye-opening, heart-wrenching glimpse into a new form of existence.

Humans only have a few needs-food, water, shelter, sleep. Everything else, although we attempt to justify it as a need, are wants and desires. As I literally had no travel plan after the flight to Athens, I simply had to prioritize my needs. First order of business was always food and water. And shelter followed close behind. Such freedom is unprecedented. And I loved every minute of it.

But trying to understand how others live is never easy. The best we can do is try to get out of our own little worlds and live in theirs. During my travels I was exposed to some radically different lifestyles- men spending the entire day fishing, knowing they cannot return home to their families empty-handed because this means empty stomachs. Families of five forced to accost ATM users in order to have money to eat. Strangers sleeping bundled up next to each other in parks, bonded solely by their mutual vagrancy. I looked upon these individuals with sympathy and feelings of personal guilt. Should I spend my time helping them? Are they just a product of a flawed system or are they mentally/physically incapable of work? Is it my place to intervene?

These questions and others restlessly rattled around the cage of my brain, knowing that true freedom cannot be felt as long as these troubles lie in such close proximity. But while my heart went out to them, I knew I could not be their savior. So I carried on.

"Traveling restores your faith in humanity." That's what my mom told me tonight. And I could not agree more. Although I encountered some of the aforementioned troubling sights, my experience was also chalked full of compassionate natives more than willing to assist a struggling American. I met people from all over the world, each doing their part to get by despite the strains of life. When you see people working unbelievably hard just to get by each day, it fills one with a newfound respect. And when you meet people who are able to squeeze kindness, compassion and humor into a world largely occupied by grief and suffering, there is an genuine admiration that cannot be expressed verbally. It is a truly beautiful thing and a realization that I will hold dear for the coming years.