When I was in the 7th grade and just barely out of Underoos, it felt like everyone at school knew I still had Wonder Woman panties scrunched up in the back of my dresser drawer. My 7-12 middle/high school in Virginia graduated a mere 27 seniors that year. For a budding teen, the biggest implication of this microcosm was that the world felt extremely small. Jeans too short? Still sleeping in kid pajamas? Trouble with a boy? In a time when so many things were uncertain, I was sure of this: Everyone knew everything.

Imagine my surprise when we moved to North Carolina and no one knew anything. As hard as it was to leave my friends and the close community of my small school (for a slightly less-small school, with 98 graduating seniors), our move south wedged open the door to the bigger world. The kids who were popular and prized at my school in Virginia were nobodies here. It took me awhile to grasp this significance but eventually I understood that the vastness of our own importance is tiny relative to the grand scale of our incredibly big world. Big stuff for a teenager.

I’ve written before about the perspective I believe travel brings to our lives, which is why I love this quote by French writer Gustave Flaubert:

“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

We don’t need to go to Paris, France to experience this truth. Paris, Texas will do. In fact, I’d argue that you might not even need to leave your hometown. Spend some time volunteering—at a nearby food pantry or old-folks home—and you’ll step into a world adjacent to the one you inhabit every day. A world that never knew you existed, doesn’t hear the same gossip, doesn’t care about your social status or lack thereof. It’s eye-opening.

I learned early that my problems weren’t as big as they seemed, and that, shockingly!, although the neighbors may care, the wider world could give a rip about how my hair looks or what brand of jeans I wear. It was an enduring lesson for a 13-year old girl, and one I’m fortunate to be reminded whenever I step outside of my own tiny place in this very large world.

How has travel helped you gain perspective? I’d love it if you’d share in the comments, or write your own post about these Wise Words.