Vacations, while enjoyable, are necessary in every way possible. They keep us healthy by keeping us active and reduce the stress from every day work and life. They keep our minds productive by allowing us to see the world from a different perspective, and to take in all that this world has to offer. From being more productive at work, to holding more stimulating conversations with friends, vacations are imperative. But the one thing we overlook, are the people we spend those vacations with.

It is important to share these moments in your life, with the people who have been there with you your entire life, your family. Values and traditions run from generation to generation, and they all hold an importance for a reason. It’s on vacations where the most popular conversation starter is, “I remember when…”. It’s never the place that you visit, but the stories told that make it important. This coming April will be the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. If you were to take a boat out to the site, you would look around and just see water. But under you? The lives and stories of thousands remain. Most people can trace back someone from their family to that boat, the boats before it, or the Carpathia which came back for those who survived. A family, are the only ones that can take a moment in history, and connect it to you personally.

 

Like I said, it is important to go on vacations, but it is more important to spend those vacations with the people closest to you. The values of honesty, trust, and integrity cannot be learned from a book. The old saying of, “your word is your bond”, is still one of the most important values to this day. And learning sympathy and compassion for others can only be taught by example.