Comments on: Growing Up, Growing Scared

By: Sherry

Sherry — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:11:53 +0000

So happy you found me Christina!

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:37:52 +0000

This post was great! It’s so true. People tend to lose their sense of wonder as they grow older. I’m only 20 now and I know I’m going to change a lot in the years to come, but I hope to keep my youthful desires.

PS. This is my first time visiting your blog (I found it via Gary Arndt on Everything-Everyehere) but I’m excited to read more! (:

By: Sherry

Sherry — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:36:47 +0000

Yes – I love that necklace comment – makes me laugh every time! I don’t even think I have the necklace any longer – lost somewhere in my travels no doubt!

By: Chandra

Chandra — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:04:19 +0000

Wow I’m really glad that I found your blog! I loved reading this story and it should serve as inspiration for everyone raising children.

ps i want to see the aforementioned necklace!

By: abhishek

abhishek — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:45:15 +0000

wow!!….just amazing how u look at life….i just loved the statement ..”do one thing a day u are scared off”.

By: kim

kim — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:33:35 +0000

HAHAHA! That note is priceless. The exclamation point just adds to it too! Love it!

You know, if I would have heard a presentation like you delivered when I was in the sixth grade I think it could have changed my life. I grew up in Ohio, neither of my parents have ever been out of the country and the farthest west they’d ever traveled (before I moved to Oregon) was Colorado (my dad). It took me until I was an adult to realize that traveling was possible and not just something that rich people get to do. As a kid, I think knowing that travel was possible could have changed everything…

By: flip

flip — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:35:27 +0000

i love this post… and the notes that you got from the kids are just so sweet (and funny too)…

By: Priyank

Priyank — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:54:02 +0000

Hi Sherry,
I got goosebumps reading this, honest! These non academic lessons will certainly last in their minds especially since now is the time their personality develops! When I was in 6th grade (heck, 10th even!) all I wanted to do is graduate, marry, settle down…. but now its funny. Thanks for sharing!

By: Mary, mother of Ruben & Skate

Mary, mother of Ruben & Skate — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:36:13 +0000

Sherry,
I’m slowly making it through your blog. It’s great. It was very nice of you to visit your niece’s school. I love that last letter. Classic.

Mary

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:36:38 +0000

LOVE this post. We all dream of far off places as kids, why don’t we make some of it a reality as adults?

Michelle
@eskyguide

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 10:56:23 +0000

Fabulous post! I love seeing things through kids’ eyes. It is refreshing. It makes me take a step back and look at an experience with a different outlook. You are such a great aunt!

By: Poi

Poi — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:37:14 +0000

Loved reading this – that last picture is amazing.

If only everyone could approach everything like a kid, the world would be so much more fun. I’ve been telling myself to forget the what ifs, when did I start worrying about things so much??

By: Mark H

Mark H — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:29:22 +0000

The last photo made me laugh. Innocent and hilarious. This is one of the most uplifting articles I’ve read – really fine and rewarding piece.

By: Suzy

Suzy — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:59:24 +0000

Wonderful insight into a child’s innocence when it comes to travel, something we all should embrace no matter our age. Definitely had me laughing at the spelling mistake at the end there.

By: thalia

thalia — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:00:40 +0000

i think that once you realise that you can die from doing certain things, it scares you. i definitely remember one year just loving gymnastics in gym class, and the next year i had horrible visions of me snapping my neck doing flips. i’m totally jealous of fearlessness- i’m really trying to work on it! great post!

By: Heather on her travels

Heather on her travels — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:33:34 +0000

What a rewarding experience to inspire these school kids – however if you did this to a class of kids at one of my childrens’ schools I suspect that most of them would still be standing while you worked through UK, Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia – you might lose a few by the time you got to the North pole.

By: Dave and Deb

Dave and Deb — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:58:54 +0000

I love this post Sherry. I laughed out loud at the end. Hilarious! It is wonderful how children have that fearlessness. It is doing presentations like this that helps us all remember what it was like to be young and filled with wonder.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:42:12 +0000

Thanks EVERYONE for your great comments and passing this post along to friends! Hopefully it will make us all think a bit!
I wish I could simply go on a school speaking circuit – it would be so much fun! One day….you never know…however I’ll be sure to not wear a necklace next time!
Sherry

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:40:09 +0000

Scott – it’s GREAT to hear from you and I had no idea you read the blog…thanks for speaking up!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:39:40 +0000

True – everyone has to find their own way to ‘push’ themselves…for me the do one thing everyday that scares me works. It may be small, or big…it depends on the day. Heck – it was that motto that finally got me eating sushi years ago! I’ve come a long way…
Thanks for your comments Mark – very insightful!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:37:44 +0000

Love the fact that you are reading blog posts in your tent…now THAT’s inspiring! Hope the trip is going well!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:37:06 +0000

Sorry about your coffee accident…ha! I should have warned people about the picture…but you can imagine when I saw it the first time…rolled right out of my chair!
Very cute story about the kids in Montana! Love it!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:35:56 +0000

Ha – yes – I’ve decided that I need to start influencing and inspiring at a young age…it’s much easier to do than to convince adults to get up and go traveling! Hopefully I’m planting a seed!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:34:34 +0000

Oh I hope it gets just one kid interested in a semester abroad…then I’ll feel completely successful!
How interesting that the adult group thought that you were trying to sell something…a sad commentary on our adult lives!
Thanks for your comment!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:33:20 +0000

I certainly was a fearful kid…was scared of everything – just ask my brother and sister! Somehow I’ve been going the opposite direction as I get older – I’ll try anything now!

By: megan

megan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:35:27 +0000

What a fantastic thing for you to do – hopefully your presentation will stay with those kids for a long time.

I know I’m becoming more and more of a fraidy-cat as I get older – it’s only getting worse, which is a worry since I only just set out on my trip! But one of my goals is to try and do things I would normally shy away from – maybe I’ll try and recapture some of that fearlessness (operative word being: try!)

And that spelling mistake – I am literally in stitches!!

By: ExplorerDad

ExplorerDad — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:38:44 +0000

Great post – kids often see things better than we do. And yes their quotes are classic.

By: JoAnna

JoAnna — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:56:25 +0000

Super inspiring post, Sherry. I’m posting this one on my private FB page for all those people out there who keep commenting and telling me that I’m lucky for doing what I do. There’s no reason they can’t do the same.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:40:41 +0000

Sherry, one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time. I can’t answer for everyone, but I actually was a pretty fearful kid and only started to lose some of my fears as a teenager and young adult. I feel like I put away my childish fears, only to eventually acquire more reasonable “adult” ones. Most of my adult fears have to do with confronting my own mortality. The older you get the more real death and disability begin to seem. But in a strange way confronting mortality also makes it less scary. So I guess it works both ways.

Hugs, Lynn

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:28:24 +0000

We gave the same type of speech about our travels to a group of middle aged professionals and their response was decidedly different: it ranged from “so, what are you selling me?” to “I can’t do that because (some lame excuse)”. It’s good that you are getting them young while their minds are open and their imagination is at their best!

Who knows, maybe 10 years from now this speech will have sparked one of the students to do a semester or year abroad!

By: Alisha

Alisha — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:42:58 +0000

I absolutely love this post. Reading it gave me chill bumps. The knowledge, influence, and creative energy you put forth for the children will be more than they probably receive all year for some. One of the favorite things about coming back to the states for me was sharing my experiences with my nieces, nephews, and cousins. To see their eyes grow so wide and be so intriqued about homes and places other than their own. This is truly a reason we all travel- to share our stories to encourage others! Your effort is amazing, and they are lucky to have had you be a part of their classroom!

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:18:09 +0000

Sherry you are so spot on with this. It is so true – we are so much more willing to try and do things when you are a kid. I hope to regain that through our travels. So much of life gets shut off or cut off when we allow our overly logical adult voices to take over.

And….of course the kicker is your necklace!

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:59:47 +0000

First of all, that last picture left me laughing out loud! And reading through some of the things the kids wrote to you was just too cute. Even though you have such a huge event like “Meet Plan Go” coming up, I love that you’re even inspiring the youngsters. I’m sure this presentation was very fulfilling with the kids being so intrigued!

By: Gray

Gray — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:55:28 +0000

I love this article, Sherry! First, for the way you taught the children to think about travel and going beyond their current experiences, but also for exploring that concept of fear. I’d like to know, too: Why is it that we become so fearful of things when we grow up? It kinda sucks.

PS That spelling error…ROTFLMAO!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:49:45 +0000

Sherry – love this post, thanks for sharing your experience with the kids. A great read over coffee which I almost spit out when I got to the end. That was priceless!

I had a similar (fun) experience speaking to 4th and 5th graders in my hometown in Montana – I was talking about India, and how many people there were vegetarians. One kid stood up and said “That’s impossible, you would DIE if you didn’t eat meat!”. That’s Montana kids for you! I still am laughing about it.