Horizons

This year has given me lots of opportunities to travel inside and out of the country. Most of my life I take a trip every other year to somewhere near a beach, but this year has been very different. I went to Boston to visit schools and celebrate my birthday in a city I didn't recognize. I was able to fly to spend a weekend at a college and experience fall on the east coast. This weekend I got the opportunity to go to Tennessee with my family to watch my brother play football.
Tennesse isn't like the other trips I've been on. There was much less sun and shorts and a lot more wilderness to explore. Our hotel sat on top of one of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen (also, one of the only). There was no horizon, simply another peak across a valley. The colorful fall leaves on the mountains was breathtaking. I bundled up and breathed in the crisp air, rather than sunbathing and swimming.
Most of the weekend was spent with my brother's football team sightseeing and playing games. The last day we spent in Pigeon Forge was spent getting away from the tourism and seeing some of the scenery that was so abundant around us. There was no rush to get somewhere and we could leisurely drive up the mountainside. The top changed the way I viewed the world. Ohio is known for the flat farmland that it is. I have lived a life where the sky could touch the Earth. In Tennesse, the Earth touches the sky. It is a small distinction, but a life-changing one.
Experiences like these should fulfill my wanderlust, but instead, it simply fuels it. Returning home makes my mind stir. It leaves me time to think about where I will go next. I am never content sitting still. I want to see what the rest of the world has to offer me. I want to experience something that will change the way I view the world. I feel I have been cramped into this small corner and all I want is to break free.