Road tripping is such an amazing activity. It is the simple act of getting from point A to point B, but at the same time, it is an act of exploration, adventure, and discovery. I am on a road trip to San Francisco this week with a few friends, and we came up with a few reasons why road tripping is great to do while you're young:

1. It's Pretty Affordable

Road trips are cheap if you make them cheap. Your biggest expenses will be on gas for the car and your living situation. However, when it comes to road trip activities and food, you can save a lot of money. In my experience, since my two friends and I were only going six hours up the coast, we made sure to bring lots of snacks for the road and food for breakfast, so we only had to buy lunch and dinner. Another good tip for saving money is to live in hostels. We booked a motel, a bunkhouse and a hostel during our week-long trip, and each place cost around $100 a night, which was very convenient to split between three people. Hostels are completely safe and clean. They’re great if you need a nightly pit stop on your journey.

2. You Can Take Your Best Friends

I took mine! You should take yours! It's always good to go on a road trip with people you like, especially if they are friends who you don't go to school with. Road tripping is a great time to catch up and hang out away from home on the open road.

3. You'll See Something You've Never Seen Before

There are always cool sights to see on road trips, whether that sight is an art gallery, a wacky restaurant, or the world’s largest truck stop! Driving through different states will open your eyes to new sights and brand new scenery that you can only discover by driving by.

5. Good Time To Think

I don't know about you, but I love to think about life and what I’m looking forward to in the future during long car rides. I mean, if you get bored, it’s all you really can do right? The wide, open road is a blank canvas which turns your mind into a blank canvas, and during those hours of quiet and serenity, you can close your eyes (unless you're the driver!) and think.

6. So Many Amazing Photo-ops

My friends and I love capturing everything we do every day whether it is on snapchat, on our camera phones or our physical cameras. Reiterating my third point, road trips are great for discovering things you've never seen before! This means that you're going to take awesome, breathtaking photos to hang in your room, compile in a photo album or share with others later in life.

7. You Can Blast Music On The Open Road

This is my favorite aspect of a road trip! There’s nothing better than a good, long road trip playlist. Blast music and have a good time--the open road is open after all. Usually you'll be driving on the highway for hours at a time, and it can get quiet. Music and your best singing voice can liven up a good road trip journey.

8. Great Time To Bond With Others

If you're road-tripping with acquaintances or people you don't normally hang out with, telling funny stories and playing car games are great ways to bond. You're going to be spending most of the day on the road, so finding a few good speaking topics and games is a great idea. Additionally, if you stay in a public hostel with random strangers in it, it’s actually quite fun to socialize with the people you meet. During our trip, we met a female flight attendant, and a few men from Germany. You never know who you’re going to meet on a road trip!

9. Creates Memories

Memories are made to be cherished and kept. Road trips will definitely create some fantastic memories. Sad, happy, tasty, scary and hilarious ones.

10. It'll Help You With Your Navigating Skills

These trips are usually very long, so you'll be using a GPS or a physical map the whole time. I have no sense of direction, and I heavily depend on my phone for directions anywhere I go. Being on a road trip will not only increase one’s sense of direction, it will give both the driver and the navigator more focus.

11. It's A Good "Adulting" Experience

Road trips are pretty adult things to do, especially if you're going without a guardian of some sort. They require one to drive away from one's home to somewhere else or vice versa. Either way, you are away from your safe, comfortable haven, and you have to navigate yourself on your own.

Road trips also take planning and the willingness to spend money, which are responsible and mature concepts. My friends and I discussed how and when we would go to San Francisco for months, and we figured out how much money we needed and what we were willing to buy. That's real adulting right there!

12. Good Way To Unplug

Traveling can be a great time to unplug oneself from one’s studies, one’s responsibilities and one’s technology. Obviously, most people travel with their phones, but it is always good to leave your computer, video games and sources of entertainment at home so you can fully immerse yourself in vacation. As I mentioned earlier, road trips are great for thinking about life, so bring a journal or a good book on your next road trip. Relax, unplug, drive, and enjoy the road.