Contemplate: Defining Your Travel Legacy

By Erin Washington and Gray Shealy

What do you want to be known for in the way you travel? Now is the time to be the architect of your own personal travel legacy.

A traveller who’s always surrounded by a cornucopia of flowers, the world’s finest hotels, and service excellence.

Another who shows us that no destination is too far, going somewhere even for a quick moment just to experience it.

An adventurer who - off the beaten path - will try any food, judgment free, as a way to truly understand the culture.

Each of these travellers has their own distinctive style of which they are known by their fellow colleagues, friends, and social groups. Their stories, images, and collections with which they surround themselves inspire others to be curious about exploring the world, influenced by their passions.

What they have created is their own living travel legacy.

Traditionally, the notion of “legacies” have been the purview of the aging wealthy elite, their contributions measured in philanthropy and societal impact. Some leave a legacy in other ways, be it from scientific or artistic achievements that better the lives of those who come in their wake.

But legacies can transcend age and financial wealth, achieved and experienced during one’s lifetime, and rather exist as a lasting source of inspiration to those around them. Travel is one of the riches that can be shared and passed on to others as transformational inspiration.

One thing is for certain: a legacy cannot be bought overnight, but rather it is the product of an accumulation of wealth over many years; a wealth of education, experiences, good deeds, behaviors, and endeavors. Travel affords a certain richness that is ultimately intangible–providing us with an opportunity for profound growth, a literacy we could never quite achieve from only books, challenging us to use our street smarts and empathies as we navigate the world and accumulate experiences. The richest of us become immortalized as global citizens, achieving a unique ability to embrace and assimilate into various cultures other than our own.

A travel legacy is a signature hallmark, uniquely owned and shared by the traveller. It is something that one is known for, a reputation and perception achieved after years of practice and years of travel, revealing itself earlier in one’s life, rather than just at the end. This is why we, as a 30 and 40-something are thinking about the notion of a travel legacy now. And it is why we believe that such a legacy can be strategically designed and lived in the now.

Travel itself may be fleeting, but a legacy is not. As the future remains uncertain, and as we travelling adults ponder what we are ‘leaving behind,’ consider the ramifications of your own travel legacy and its potential to inspire others. What is a legacy if not a collection of powerful words, images, and souvenirs that paint a story of your experience for others. Such inspiration has the power to change people’s behaviors, give them a vision of what could be, show them the beauty of the world’s bounty–of its cultures, landscapes, diversity–so that they can experience it and positively impact it with their own unique footprint. And finally at your end, you leave behind the reputation of someone who cared to learn about the world around them, and inspired others to do the same: an enduring testament to a life lived in pursuit of wonder and enrichment.

What do you want to be known for in the way you travel? Now is the time to be the architect of your own personal travel legacy, designing a raison d’etre, a tailored perception and frame of reference for those who follow in your wake.

Syllogi aspires to help you travel better. Our occasional long-form essays think deeper about the importance of travel and what it means for our collective future.