Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 1

Wanderlust, noun /ˈwändərˌləst/ : Strong longing for or impulse toward wandering

Wanderlust is a word often used to describe one's love for adventure, traveling, and new experiences. As a college student, I hear 'wanderlust' brought up every now and then, especially when referring to the ventures of studying abroad or those strongly desired summer vacations. Coming from a military family as well, these discussions of new places are quite familiar to me. However, over time, I've come to believe that everyone has this sudden urge to escape, travel, and start over new - except for me. Like many, I don't enjoy change; I like words such as constant, routine, schedule, normal, safe, familiar, and most importantly, home. I'm not sure how others overcome these feelings - maybe mine are just on another, higher level. Of course I experience stressful moments when I wish I could run away and hide (such as midterm and final seasons), but I would never actually act upon them. Many students and faculty tell me that study abroad is an incomparable experience, and I honestly wish I could see and understand what they speak of, but I know the moment I were to step foot in that new place, country, or school, I would have the urge to turn around and come right back. It's not just that I don't like unfamiliar areas, I believe I'm quite afraid of them. 

Now that I've discussed my fears of change and new places, I'd like to take a step forward in explaining what I hope to learn in Geography 151: Cities and Social Difference. Through this course (and hopefully along with my own exploration and experiences) I'd like to understand how and why each city and area differs - how is it that we can travel such short distances, yet arrive in a completely different, unfamiliar place? Not only may the scenery differ, but so may the people and cultures that comprise these places as well. For example, although my family is less than an hour from UCLA, the difference between my home city and Los Angeles is surprisingly vast. It's amazing how large the difference really is - and because of this change in atmosphere, I feel as if I'm farther away than I really am. At times I stop and consider that if distances so small can differ greatly, how can one comprehend all the differences between counties, states, or even countries? I definitely do not expect a straightforward simple answer, but I would like to learn more about these differences, and hopefully as a result learn about myself and my own fears. 

Most importantly, I want to face these fears. Through this blog and my new travels to come, I would like to try and welcome the word 'wanderlust' into my life for the first time.