I know why the caged bird sings

I've been thinking a lot about the Disney princesses lately, and what they have to tell girls about themselves, especially in light of my South Korea journey. Say what you will about Disney's portrayals of their appearances and in some cases, the veracity of their stories, but I've found something in the stories of most of those female leads that I can really connect with and that is a longing to know more about the world.
In almost all of the stories made in the 1990's, the females sing a solo that explains their yearning to discover more about their world than that which contents most people. Belle, Ariel, and Pocahontas all reject the role that's been projected for them, important though it may (as a member of their culture, as a leader in their community) and sing songs about being part of something that they've only had glimpses of so far. Fa Mulan decides that she can expand on it-- she yearns to find out what she can be, if the role she's meant to play is not the right fit. Even Jasmine sings about a world where she's more than the rules she's bound by within her society.
It may be a little simplistic to look at it this way, but I sing these songs over and over in my head and find myself singing certain lyrics with more intensity, and finding satisfaction in them, for a reason. It's not about restriction, per se, or rejection. It's not that it has to do with discontent for its own sake.  It's that there is so much out here in this world to enjoy, to see, to experience, and I, like those female leads, want to have a chance to do it all. It's a feeling that if the desire is there within me, and I have the chance to follow up on that desire, then I need to pursue it. For good or ill, it's an itch that has to be scratched.
It's not that something more stable is tedious, boring, or bad. I can see the joy that people take in living day to day, continuing the life cycle and creating a family, and I can the beauty in that. But the Disney characters are about more than what they're not. They don't want to be defined by the things that they are not supposed to do. Rather, they'd like to find out what they are capable of achieving. There's unknown potential in the world, in themselves, in ourselves, and I think that the important question that they ask of themselves is "why not say yes?" Why not say yes to the unknown, to the potential of something amazing and life-changing that is possible? The future may be grim, but they'll be a part of forging it, of discovering it; or it may be fulfilling, in only the way that something really exhilarating can make you feel every nerve tingling in your body, and make you aware of every moment in which you are doing something different and new to you.
What I've discovered from my travels so far is that I am no longer living in a moment of yearning, dreaming of the possible futures and adventures that await me, or imagining them in my head while I should go about the business of living. I find that I am living more in the present because of them, taking each moment in as a moment of discovery. Maybe I'm living adventure for adventure's sake, and perhaps this yearning is a little selfish. But this discovery of travel has, ironically, also started to teach me more about the value of community and reliance on others. It's taught me about the generosity of my neighbors, and the ways in which we can help each other understand pain and joy within the context of a bigger world and the events happening around us. It's taught me a deeper meaning of the word gratitude.
So far, the idea of being halfway around the world from my hometown hasn't really sunk in. I'm kind of afraid to let myself think about it too much, because I think that it might be too overwhelming to dwell on it for long. I don't know if that feeling ever quite goes away, even if I find that I can adjust around it a little better. I rather hope the idea doesn't stop scaring me a little bit, always. But I don't think I've ever felt at home, even at home, and maybe that's also part of always looking on further down the road. In any case, for now, I'm content to sit on this little patch of earth and call it home.