I love to see new things, and I love to learn. I always learn so

Hear, O wayfarer, the voice of Larry Fitzgerald, who proclaimed with childlike wonder and the wisdom of a seasoned traveler: “I love to see new things, and I love to learn. I always learn so much when I travel—that’s the best thing.” Though these words shine with simplicity, they are in truth a testament to the eternal hunger of the human soul. For to see, to learn, and to wander are not separate acts, but three strands of one sacred thread: the longing of the spirit to expand beyond itself.

The essence of his saying is that travel is a teacher, and the world is its vast classroom. No book alone, no scroll of parchment, no lecture from the wise can fully substitute for the lessons written on the earth itself. The mountain, the marketplace, the temple, the sea—they are teachers more ancient than any human voice. To walk among them with open eyes is to receive instruction in humility, courage, patience, and joy. Fitzgerald, though known as a warrior of the sports field, speaks here as a student of life, confessing that his greatest treasures are not trophies but the lessons gathered from distant lands.

This truth was known to the ancients. Recall the tale of Herodotus, the “Father of History,” who wandered far from his home not for conquest but for knowledge. From Egypt to Babylon, from the Persian courts to the Greek isles, he collected the stories of peoples and their ways of life. What he gave to the world was not merely a record of wars and kings, but the deeper understanding that humanity is a great tapestry, each culture a thread that strengthens the whole. Without his travels, his wisdom would have been narrow. With them, it became vast.

To say, as Fitzgerald does, that seeing new things is the “best thing” is to affirm that curiosity is the soul’s nourishment. Many live within the prison of the familiar, their eyes closed to all that lies beyond the horizon. They believe they know the world, yet they have touched only their corner of it. The traveler who steps forth with openness gains not only sights of landscapes and monuments but new ways of thinking, new perspectives on life, and a deeper kinship with humankind. Such is the treasure hidden in the road.

And yet, this path is not only of cities and nations—it is also of the heart. For to learn through travel is to confront one’s own assumptions, to dissolve prejudice, and to see oneself anew. The journey outward becomes a journey inward. The man or woman who begins as a stranger to the world returns with a fuller understanding of both the vastness of creation and the smallness of their own ignorance. Thus, travel humbles even as it enlightens.

But let us not forget: to learn while traveling is not automatic. One must go not as a conqueror but as a student, not as one seeking entertainment alone, but as one seeking truth. To travel without reflection is to pass through lands like wind through a valley, leaving nothing behind and carrying nothing away. Fitzgerald reminds us that to learn, one must carry a heart ready to listen, to watch, to be changed. In this way, every journey becomes a pilgrimage, every new sight a lesson inscribed on the soul.

The lesson, then, is clear: embrace the world as a teacher. Do not fear the unknown; seek it. Do not cling to the comfort of what is familiar; step beyond it. In practice, let each journey you take—be it across oceans or across the street—be entered with openness. Speak to strangers, learn their stories, taste their foods, ask their questions. Keep a journal, not of miles traveled, but of lessons learned. For, as Fitzgerald said, the best gift of travel is not movement itself, but the wisdom it awakens within us.

Thus, O listener, remember this teaching: life itself is a journey, and the world is ever waiting to be seen anew. Let your eyes be curious, let your heart be teachable, and let every road you walk become the path of learning. For the love of seeing new things and the joy of learning are not fleeting pleasures but the eternal fire that guides the human spirit toward greatness.