Give in to your wanderlust: nothing is more liberating than changing your everyday environment and hitting the road. Here, novelist Danyel Smith explains why. (On My Mind).

* In my novel More Like Wrestling, my main character Pinch is a woman in her 20s devoted to her hometown of Oakland. But she also feels an urge to leave the place that both nurtured and bruised her. Pinch wants to find herself. But because Oakland is so comfortable for her, she has trouble acting on her desire to skip loyal.

We have all been in situations where in the backs of our minds finds we know we've stuck around one place for too long. Maybe your life is going pretty nicely and your job is cool though not deeply fulfilling. Or you know your town's every nook and cranny and the biggest thrill you get is when a coffeehouse barista remembers that you take soy milk with your chai tea.

That's when you know it's time to break out of your comfort zone and go to a place where the way of life, if not the language, is different from your own. Why? There are so many benefits. Taking a geographic risk produces a totally liberating, weightless feeling unlike any other, even if you're only going away for a short while. Then, as you settle into your new surroundings, you have a chance to unplug ... and then recharge with the energy of a different place. Example: A year and a half ago, one of my girlfriends was getting married in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I'd just broken up--for the fourth time--with my boyfriend of six off-and-on years. I arrived in Jamaica three days before the wedding party, checked into my room, and went to lie on the beach. I wrote and read and listened to waves hit the shore. The only sightseeing I did was into myself. By the time the couple arrived, I'd cooked a damp New York spring from my body and an old love from my soul. I decided, for the final time, not to go back to the boyfriend--and I was ready to stand next to the bride with an optimistic attitude.

But more importantly, there are certain things you can learn about yourself--such as what exactly you're ...