Annie Sophie Swetchine, whoever she is, once said,

 

            "Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones."

 

    Now here is someone who is definitely anti-travel. I would almost tend to agree with her if by "frivolous" she means "over and above the typical or average." But if she means frivolous in the very derogatory sense of "unneeded, self-indulgent," then I would definitely disagree. I believe that we are here on this planet for a very finite time and that meaning and purpose in life does not come just from work (even though some jobs or careers can be extremely self-fulfilling). Rather, I believe that all humans have an obligation to explore their world or at least to sample some of the different cultures which promote self-reflection and rethinking, leading to intellectual growth and understanding. Travel, to me, becomes a necessary part of this process of self-actualization, and, if this element is missing, it becomes more difficult to achieve happiness and satisfaction in life.