One of my biggest aspirations for my life is to travel the world as much as possible. I long to go to new cities, visit the best natural wonders and soak up everything the world has to offer me. I love the feeling of writing out travel itineraries (even though you know it will all fall to pieces within the first hour), and I greatly enjoy the feeling of anticipation as you wait for your plane to takeoff knowing you are preparing to embark on your next journey. Following are three benefits you get when traveling.
1. See Different Parts of the World
This one may seem intuitive, but I believe that seeing a place in person is a special magic different from what you could ever read about or see pictures of. You can stand at the base of a volcano or stare out at the expanse of the Grand Canyon, and it will have a profound effect on you. When you travel, you also have the ability to truly immerse yourself in global history. You can walk through the Colosseum where Ancient Romans once watched sports, and you can visit the Berlin Wall which once separated the world into the East and the West. Traveling allows you to get up-close and personal with the world in which we live.
2. Experience New Cultures
One of the best benefits of travel is the ability to experience new cultures. This one does not come as innately as the first. To travel to a new place and to remain aloof to how the locals live is quite easy. You can look at the sights and retreat to your hotel room at night and only eat foods you are familiar with, but then you miss out on one of the greatest opportunities of all: learning about other cultures. Traveling gives you the opportunity to live differently than you would live at your house. You can learn a bit of a new language or try a dish unique to the area. When you plunge into the region that you're visiting, you’re much more likely to get a one-of-a-kind and memorable experience.
3. Increase Personal Well-Being
This one may seem like a stretch, but I truly believe this to be factual. The act of traveling in itself, the planning of the schedule, the experience of coping when the schedule goes wrong, the inability to lean back onto a culture that you understand -- all these teach you serious skills that will add to your independence as a person. You will become better equipped to deal with stressful situations and you will be able to adapt to rapid changes that life throws at you.
Travel can seem scary, especially when the trip is for a long duration or to a place that differs vastly from the place that we call home. However, the rewards of travel greatly outnumber any amount of fears that we could have. When we constantly push ourselves and step outside our comfort zones is when we really get to live our best life, and traveling can provide us with that push we need.
