After two months of surfing, hiking, scuba diving, and cultural experiences in Southeast Asia, I've officially returned home with a new vice:

I'm a water hoarder. 

I spent the last two months in Indonesia and the Philippines -- which means I've had more than my share of opportunities to get seasick. From day trips to see the dugongs in Coron to island hopping in El Nido to liveaboards in the Komodo Islands, I definitely earned my sea legs.

And! I learned a really cool and potent way to fight seasickness, using only my mind.

Ballooning should be on EVERYONE'S bucket list! 

Growing up, I spent at least a week -- usually more! -- almost every summer in Upstate New York. And there are countless amazing things to do there: hiking Taughannock Falls; swimming at Buttermilk Falls; getting in (or on) the lake; and wine trails, to name a few.

But one of the best Ithaca adventures I’ve ever had, hands down, was my flight with Southern Tier Balloon Tours.
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Mindy Kaling once famously asked, "Is everyone hanging out without me?" This is a question I'd never asked myself -- until today. Because today they are. In the Bahamas. On a boat. Without me. Even though I went to ActionQuest and I'm an awesome sailor and a Master Scuba Diver.

But I digress. 

​The point is, there was a ton of traffic when I dropped my friend off at SFO. Like, a TON. But we spent exactly zero minutes stuck in it.

I recently returned from a trip to Southeast Asia -- and I learned and saw so many things. Some made me happy. Some made me sad. And some... were kind of amusing.

For example, the observation that about 1 in 7 white guys had his arm in a sling...

Kids these days -- amirite? 

​No, but actually. For real. Kids these days are more sensitive and fragile than kids of the past. Even according to the president of an elite university that I spoke with recently, “Today’s college students are not like you.”

Yesterday, while sipping a honey-lavender latte at Bliss Cafe, I got to talking with the most gorgeous woman. And I don't just mean her face -- her whole soul was radiant with joy. When the topic shifted to one that is dear to me, travel, she said something fascinating:

"One week of travel produces a year's worth of memories."

Look, I get it. Travel is your thing​. It's what you talk about at parties. It's what you post about on social media. And your travel stories are way better than everyone else's.

​But here's the thing: if you "travel shame" people who don't travel the way you do, all it tells me is that you probably aren't that good of traveler.

Novels are great! They stir the soul. They share emotional journeys we can all relate to. It's great to read novels – which is probably why Stanford provides a list of three books -- usually novels -- for its incoming freshmen to read each summer.

My freshman year, the Three Books were M Butterfly, Annie John, and Old School, which was actually pretty spectacular -- especially since I'd just graduated from a New England boarding school.

But let's be honest. Did any of these books change my life? Prepare me for college? Change the way I think? Improve my cognitive skills?

No. But this one will:

There's a common myth in popular psychology that money doesn't buy happiness. 

​It totally does.