In my final draft I make subtle changes in diction to make the grammar flow better, and have my words convey the feeling that I want my audience to experience. In addition to reworking my conclusion so that it connects not only to my thesis but also a global message of why people should travel, which I believe Iyer is trying to convey in his essay.

Pico Iyer, a Oxford graduate, in his article “Why We Travel” drums up his audience of western readers to celebrate the power of travel to bring mankind together. Iyer identifies himself as one of many travellers throughout history that sing the same song, raising their voices, or perhaps more aptly their pens, in one mighty chorus declaring that “There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar; it keeps the mind nimble; it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor.” (Iyer 35). One may say that Iyer is merely articulating the benefits to one’s demeanor or that the enjoyment which stems from travel merits the venture into the unknown. However the heart of Iyer’s message truly claims that the power of travel lies within the ability to change heart of man. And what does it mean or require in order to change the heart of man? It means to relinquish the shackles of the past, pessimism, and preconceived notions of the world, to be mentally reborn as a more optimistic, more intertwined, and wiser adventurer who flees the pitfalls of boredom and dares to seek the unknown, connecting with not only the places but the people that inhabit them. In order to to persuade his comfortably bored western audience of why they need to invest in the merits of travel, Iyer employs flowery language detailing metaphors of youth and romance to describe how travel can transform their lives as easily as any joyous love affair.

The chief struggle for many citizens of western, first world nations lies not in physical hunger or poverty, rather the starvation of the mind and soul. Iyer in the very first sentence of his narrative says “We travel, initially, to lose ourselves” (Iyer 1), travelling to lose ourselves implies that those who travel are initially dissatisfied with the status quo of their lives, and need to by necessity travel to lose themselves in a reality that isn’t quite their own. Romeo Vitelli, a practicing psychologist in his essay titled “Bored in the USA” claims that as many as 90% of all Americans report feeling bored at least once a day. But why care about boredom? Isn’t boredom a natural occurrence in our daily lives? Vitelli reports that boredom can lead to distressingly serious repercussions such as “depression, substance abuse, absenteeism from work or school, reduced job satisfaction, and even a general sense that life has no meaning.”  (Vitelli 5). And it’s not just boredom that plagues the western world, stress and anxiety are common struggles found in everyday life, that diminish its quality and vigor. Hannah Jury a travel enthusiast writes “Travel is a great way to escape the stresses and commitments of everyday life, offering novelty and change in the form of new people, sights and experiences.” (Jury 4) and goes on the explain that travelling doesn’t just take you to a new exciting location, it takes you away from a tedious and stressful old one. Iyer wholeheartedly agrees with this solution, and goes on to follow up his initial suggestion that we travel to lose ourselves, by saying next that “we travel next to find ourselves” (Iyer 1), this heavily suggests that the dissatisfaction that comes from dealing with the struggles of everyday life, is released in the midst of travel, and what is restored, what Iyer desires, is “a more innocent self.” (Iyer 16).

By assuming the dancing eyes of an innocent child, the adventurer is able to cherish and intake the foreign land around them, however one must remember that travelling is as Iyer puts it a “two-way transaction” (Iyer 20), both parties of the traveller and native are representatives of their respective nations and their cultures. This exchange of ideas and experiences that occurs between them in a small way interconnects our international community which leads to greater understanding and therefore wisdom. However despite acknowledging the deepening of relationships and respect for one another that results from the interactions between travellers, Iyer does not overlook the far more significant impacts of both the British and American empires on the world, and how it has interwoven humanity’s culture

“In the mid-19th century, the British famously sent the Bible and Shakespeare and cricket round the world; now a more international kind of Empire is sending Madonna and the Simpsons and Brad Pitt. And the way in which each culture takes in this common pool of references tells you as much about them as their indigenous products might. Madonna in an Islamic country, after all, sounds radically different from Madonna in a Confucian one, and neither begins to mean the same as Madonna on East 14th Street.” (Iyer  26)

and how it has changed over time to become the same yet varied. The history of almost every nation on Earth is in some way affected by colonialism, Carl Thompson in his novel “Travel Writing” argues that the reader must take in the author’s words with the colonial biases of western travel writers in mind saying travelogues inevitably fall into the pit of “discrimination with regard to everything that is ‘other’ to the narratorial self” (Thompson 119), which outlines the issue, that if Iyer were to write about the superiority of western cultures he would fall into Thompson’s critic and undermine his own ethos and by proxy his argument. By tipping the hat off to the influence of America and colonial Europe on the rest of the world while still reminding everyone that foreign nations still preserve their unique cultural sanctity, Iyer maintains his credibility and still pushes the the idea that societies under similar influences can interpret those influences in different manners. Iyer applauds these subtle differences and apparent similarities as pieces of travelling experiences that inspire the traveller to become more “mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed.” (Iyer 35).

By the time Iyer writes this article describing why be believes travel is so important, he is Forty-Two, hardly a young man anymore, yet he speaks of continuously of being “in love” (Iyer 1) and being reverted to a younger stage of innocence; admittedly his desire to relive his youth may play a factor in his word choice, however the concept of travel winding back the clock and restoring a childlike sense of optimism concerning the world around us is a core argument to counteract the pessimistic trap of thinking that “life has no meaning” (Vitelli 5). What is it about travel that excites us? That restores our youthful sense of curiosity and untarnished optimism. Iyer provides his answer saying “traveling is an easy way of surrounding ourselves, as in childhood, with what we cannot understand.” (Iyer 15) meaning that by placing ourselves in a foreign location we replicate the wonder of learning about the world around us as the optimism of seeing what is new overrides the pessimism of the past and spurs us on to a “more easily excited abroad, and even kinder.” (Iyer 16) self.

Iyer could have theoretically used many other metaphors to convey this meaning, however the feelings of love and experience of youth are both incredibly positive images in most people’s minds. Admittedly sometimes painful, but in general romance is a laudable concept which provokes a happy feel good response from western audiences who are more often than not raised on stories of princesses and the power of love. Youth plays a role in Iyer’s concept of innocent curiosity, and the image of being youthful will likely also appeal to any older members of the audience that Iyer may be writing to, by offering up travel as a way to re-live one’s past Iyer takes advantage of the concept of escapism. Escapism is the philosophy where in dissatisfied people retreat to fantasys in order to take a break from their menial lives. By using the allure of love Iyer leverages his audience’s innate dissatisfaction and offers them a substitute to their realities, quoting George Santayana Iyer writes that we “need sometimes” (Iyer 2) “to escape into open solitudes” (Iyer 2). Open refers to the vast expanse of the world that is available to be traversed and solitude implies that the traveller sometimes needs a break from the ordinary and bland world of the everyday to find a new adventure.

Iyer’s masterful manipulation of metaphor allows him to convince his bored and unfulfilled western of the power that rests in the hands of travel to restore their hearts and connect them with their fellow man. Speaking on the difference between tourists and travellers Iyer writes  “perhaps the real distinction lies between those who leave their assumptions at home, and those who don't” (Iyer 5) here Iyer explains that the act of travelling is not merely geographic movement, rather a change in mindset. To travel is to embrace a foreign land and the people, to seek out their true nature, and marvel at their history. To connect with the unknown and exchange ideas, is the heart of travel, as Iyer puts it “You give me my dreamed-of vision of Tibet, and I'll give you your wished-for California.” (Iyer 21). This global exchange of ideas, cultures, and peoples is what compels Iyer to write his article in the first place, to share the wonders that he himself has experienced whether it be “chants of sutras” (Iyer 12) or “a gilded pavilion in Kyoto” (Iyer 33). Iyer is ultimately a man in love with travel, and his passion spills from the pages of his article in a dramatic, and heartfelt letter to the unique, life changing potential of travel. His goal, to persuade his audience to save themselves by getting out into the world, to embrace a childlike sense of wonder, to fall in love with something more than themselves and to live their lives with no regrets.  <-- I added this to give my conclusion a global meaning