Humans. There are 7.2 Billion of us. We speak an estimated 6,500 languages. We come from 195 different countries. We all have a different way of doing things.
We have more in common than you think.
Beyond the quarrels over religion, our governments, resources, and pre-concieved hatreds of groups of people we see as, "other," we're humans.
Getting past the language barriers, the different types of foods we eat and our ever evolving ways of life, we're STILL humans.
We've lost our sense of this fact: We're all human and we have more in common than we probably realize.
That is the biggest reason I started Wanderlust With Will.
While I'll be discovering a country I have never been to and a continent I have never traveled, I want to discuss how much we might have in common. I want to find out and discuss what's beyond the language barrier, the racism and the bigotry.
Americans are quickly losing our humanism. We're forgetting there are more people out there that deserve to be heard and deserve a chance to be understood, beyond the pre-concieved prejudices, the negative news headlines and their fragile governmental relationships with the United States.
Beyond the governments and specific policies, we all want peace and prosperity. Beyond the governments we want long and enjoyable lives.
The best way to find that, is through traveling. The best way to get rid of any pre-concieved bigotry and racism that was gained from social media, movies, the news or government propaganda, is to travel. You'll never truly know, until you experience it first hand.
My goal is to inspire my readers to travel. My goal is explore the foods, the culture and the scenery. More importantly, the goal is to better understand and get to know the PEOPLE. They're just as much a part of our planet as any American.
Sadly, we just experienced the death of one of the greatest story tellers of our generation, Anthony Bourdain. A man who so eloquently brought out the most human aspects of everyone, everywhere he went. A man who so brilliantly showed Americans that their fears about people from certain nations were unfounded.
Bourdain most notably used food as the centerpiece to which he told his stories. Anthony used the wide variety of foods and food cultures around the world to prove to his audience in America that we're not all that different and we all have a story. A story best told...over food and drinks.
What he learned and the stories he told using the common love of food was nothing short of amazing.
Anthony Bourdain is a large inspiration for what I want to try to accomplish.
Foremost, inspiring my readers, friends, and family to travel. Secondly, bringing out the humanity of the people in the places I go. Giving their point of view and showing people back home, what their culture, food, lives and where they live are like.
We can all go to the same place, and walk away with different experiences. I just hope mine is worth reading. I can only hope that in a world that is often divisive, I can begin to start to discover what we have in common.