why travel?

back in college, we had this test conducted to determine temperament. my results indicated that my temperament is 'slow to warm up.' taking this result VERY loosely, i couldn't disagree more. it takes me so long to develop new friendships. it also takes me soooo long to try out new things. worse, it takes really "SOMETHING i don't know what" to get me excited. i'm 33 now, and it wasn't until i hit the 30s that i had "bangs" for crying out loud and grew my hair beyond its usual shoulder length! for people who know me, it's a BIG step out of the comfort zone. but with traveling - it's a different story. a mere mention of "a new place" gets my hands itchy to google what and where the place is, or it gets me daydreaming of visiting the place in the future.
every time i hear people i know talk about checking out or having visited a place, i often find myself butting in on the conversation or worst making unsolicited advice on traveling. so, why travel? what is it about traveling that gets all of my body's cells all pumped up and excited?
as i've no definite answers myself, i turned to google and checked out other people's reasons for traveling.
i love amy huberman's reply when asked about leaving her hometown, maine. she said, travel gave her a chance to look with new eyes familiar things. the world had so much that aren't found in maine, and only through outside (traveling) could one look back in. she explained so beautifully what i could not put in writing myself. read her full ideas here.
meanwhile, tony wheeler, co-founder of lonely planet, has this to say about the topic:

"travel is full of pleasant surprises...it's through travel, first and foremost, that we meet and understand the outside world. we can read all about other countries in papers and magazines or see them on television, but it's remarkable how different places turn out to be when you actually visit them.."

mr. wheeler gave so many reasons why owning a passport is priceless, but i chose to share what I quoted here because it's something that i can actually vouch myself. i've only been to the few islands in my beautiful Philippines and its neighbors in the southeast asia region, but i'll stick my neck that what mr. wheeler observed really rings true. in fact, i believe that reading in full mr. wheeler's ideas here should ought to convince you (yes, YOU reading this post) to pack your bags and hit the road even just once a year. Or better yet, God-willing, bite the travel bug.
what about you? what are your reasons for traveling? can you lead a location independent lifestyle?