Nov. 18th, 2008. I recently returned from a 3-month tour through Europe. Somehow I managed to compact my entire life into a single bag, threw it on my back, and headed east. Heavy, sweating, and fatigued on my way to the airport, I came to realization that I should let go of a few luxury items--cell phone, guitar, sketch books, towels!? Though I must admit I stole one from a hotel about a month into it. Please, don't pretend like you haven't done it before. Besides, you'd probably take it home just to throw it in with all the others, like granny's house was to runaway cats.
On a more serious note, the thing that continues to inspire me while traveling isn't the monumental statues or the aesthetic of cobblestone villages, its the people. In all my life, I have never been so welcomed to actively participle in the daily and personal lives of people as I have abroad. Some may say its just fabled coincidence, perhaps, yet regardless of other peoples' experiences, mine has improved my perception and I hope to make it evident in my life as well as my art. To all those who read this and have never traveled: I highly recommend it. Doesn't matter where it is, go there and experience it for yourself.
