I commute one-hour everyday to school. I thought that commuting an hour would be the consequence of attending a more rigorous, STEM-based school. Instead, it was a benefit.

Sure, I don’t particularly enjoy sitting in traffic or being in the car for a minimum of two-hours each day. However, I've found that through commuting an hour I’ve been exposed to how different places so close can be.

Getting outside of my comfort geography. There are certain places and areas in which I know where everything is. I know which mall I prefer, what area to go for walks in, what museums there are, and what general attractions there are. When you are forced to get to know a new place, you’re forced to try new things.

When I was prompted with creating my Senior Independent Study Project, I knew I wanted to do something to this end: try new things. I realized that my commute was the factor in me trying new things, so I decided to come up with a plan to get even further outside my geography, my comfort zone: travel blogging.

I was always the type of kid to make videos from every vacation. I have travel videos from as far back as 2017. However, for this medium, I also wanted to strengthen my objective writing skills. Thus, The One-Hour Commute was born.

My goal is to show how anyone can experience new things, explore new places, and enjoy their time by just commuting a little further. Often, when we go on vacation we travel hours away by car or plane. This blog will involve traveling for about an hour, maybe a little more, maybe a little less.

I hope you, too, are inspired to step outside your geographic bubble. Take the train, drive a little further, and step outside. Commute an hour. Explore. Try something new.