Anytime I travel, I get an acute sense of self-awareness that I only experience while being away. It's like stepping out of myself and getting a bird's eye view of my life as someone else. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it in writing but something about being able to be whatever or whomever I want to be and immersing myself in a world totally unknown or perhaps somewhat familiar, helps me to grow into the person I aspire to be. When I was maybe twelve years old, my mothe