Imagine you’re going to Madrid and you’d like someone to join you for a tapas bar crawl or a day at the Prado museum…but you don’t know anyone in Madrid and have never been there before. In fact, the idea of landing in such a big city and being completely on your own is a bit daunting. Still, you have always wanted to go there and aren’t ready to give up the idea. 

Florida Culture for the Week of March 26, 2017 By Josh Garrick 

Kids know. We should have been more prepared, perhaps... with a ball gown? Full-length gloves? Sparkly shoes? But the kids in the audience at Cinderella on Tour, at Miller Auditorium at WMU last night? They were ready. We saw ball gowns of all kinds, though mostly shimmery and glittery, to be honest. We saw more tiaras than I've ever seen in one place before. And, we saw some girls rocking a punk princess look, with converses, cinderella tshirts, and skirts or jeans.

You know how you find a photographer, and then click through their ENTIRE Instagram, liking each one? Or heading to their website to discover more? When we find such a creative artist that speaks to us, it’s both a lucky occurrence (finding them in the millions of people online) and a life-enhancing moment. From now on, our lives will be enriched by their talent, view, artistry, and sharing of their worldview.

Jobs are easy to find these days. You can find a job flipping burgers, waiting tables, cutting lawns, or folding clothes in a mall pretty quickly, if you put a couple days of legwork in. High paid careers, on the other hand…those are hard to come by. They require hard work, college, sacrifice, more college, and more hard work. And networking. Don’t forget about networking. 

If visiting the Middle East, you might want to visit a famous landmark or two -- the Pyramids of Giza and the Temple of Karnak perhaps, or the Western Wall and the Umayyad Mosque. But without a doubt, a trip to the Middle East would be incomplete without a stroll down an alley.

One of the most famous sites in the Middle East is Petra, a city that the Nabateans carved out of rose-red rock in southern Jordan about 2000 years ago.

Spanning many very different countries, the Middle East is teeming with architectural treasures and cultural delights to stimulate and amaze you when you visit. Also stunning are the landscapes and the beauty of the natural world, from deserts to dunes, seascapes to sunsets, and a shimmering splendor that soothes the soul.

If you’re a lover of art and you’re keen to expand your horizons, travelling to see it in person can be an incredible experience. Both travel and art broaden the mind, so why not combine geographical and intellectual journeys? Doing so will give you better recall of what you learn and will help you connect with it in a wholly different way, enriching every aspect of your life.