Why I Travel : The Gulick Version
Yesterday was International Women's Day and it seemed every business had something to say about the impact of women in this world. (Which was awesome!) One of my favorite angles though included the "Why I Travel" series by Conde Nast Traveler. They profiled a small group of celebrity women and asked them why they feel travel is important in their lives. The answers were both beautiful and yet simple, so I decided to answer the questions for myself.
Behold, I give you the Frances Gulick version of "Why I Travel."
Where were you born?
Huntsville, Texas
Where are your parents from? How did they meet?
My parents are from Huntsville and both grew up there. They met in high school, as most people in Huntsville do, and married shortly after. Both were 19 years old and are still together to this day.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the same place my entire family lived - in Huntsville. From a very early age though, I knew I wanted to explore beyond the city limits. I believe I announced my move to New York (for college) when I was 3.
Where do you live now? How did you end up here?
Today I live in Dallas, Texas, by way of New York and Nashville. I spent a year studying musical theatre in New York City before transferring to a school outside of Nashville to complete a degree in Music Business. I landed at job at Universal Music in Dallas and I've been here ever since.
What do you think of as "home"?
Home has never been a place for me. I feel just at ease in one city as I do another. Home is a mindset; a mental place of being relaxed and wrapped in a blanket.
How has travel defined, or changed, your life?
I had never left the country until I met my husband. From the moment we cleared customs in the exotic country of Canada, I was bitten by the travel bug and haven't looked back. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see, and my life went from 1-2 international trips a year to 6-7. Every few months, we're on a plane off on a new adventure and determined to experience something we haven't before.
It has sparked a love for animals that I didn't realize ran so deep and has opened my eyes to a world that we are sheltered from here in the US. I have a newfound desire to work in the non-profit sector, no longer focusing on how to make as much money as possible but rather how to make the biggest impact possible. My entire outlook on life has changed.
Why do you travel?
Why wouldn't anyone want to travel! I travel to learn, to experience, and to forever keep my mind and heart open to things I'm unaware of. I travel to inspire others to do the same. We use photography as a way to share our experiences in hopes that it sparks a desire in someone, who was once too scared to travel somewhere, to jump on a plane and just go.
Why is choosing to travel important in 2017?
Because now, more than ever, we need to live by the words of Mark Twain.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Madagascar, 2016