I learned in my Marketing class that one of the distinguishing features of our generation is our love of travel. Our desire for new adventures and experiences. It might be because we grew up in a world that was shrinking by the day, or perhaps because we see pictures of fantastic places on a daily basis. Whatever the reason, here are my top 5 reasons why you should travel as much as you can, and as far and wide as you dare.
1. It Expands Your Worldview
When you travel somewhere new, it doesn't matter if it's in a different state or a completely different country, you are expanding your world view when you see how others live. But you aren't only learning about others, you learn more about yourself as you continue to discover what you like, what you don’t like, and what peaks your interest. When you visit a different country and immerse yourself in their culture, you truly have the privilege to see how other people live. You get a glimpse of what it would be like if you weren't born in the good old U.S. of A. Which brings me to my next point.
2. You Learn to Appreciate What You Have
Regardless of where you are visiting, be it a prosperous city, an industrialized country, or a third world island nation, you learn to appreciate what you left behind. What will always be true about traveling is it will be different than where you came from. And regardless of how much you like your destination, when you return home, you will always be grateful for the things that make home, home. And after seeing how other people live, you come to a realization that you really don’t need all that much to be happy. Happiness is a mindset, not a destination.
3. You Release Your Inner Child
When you go somewhere for the first time, your sense of childlike wonder is unleashed. You walk down the streets with your head on a swivel trying to take it all in. You shamelessly take pictures in front of buildings, statues or with people you just met 5 minutes ago. You dance with strangers in dilapidated nightclubs who are experiencing a similar sense of wanderlust. You forget about the stresses of life for a while and seem to return to that state of childlike enjoyment of the moment when you explore a new land, garnering new experiences with each passing moment. Children always live in the moment and care nothing for the judgmental stares of others that usually cage us. When you travel, you experience a similar euphoric freedom.
4. You Collect Moments, Not Things
When you travel you collect moments, not things. A capitalist society, by its nature, is obsessed with material things. And there's nothing wrong with that. Everyone loves the next new thing because its exciting and generally better. It improves our life in some way. But when you invest in experiences, rather than things, your reward is so much greater. Your interest in your new toy will wane over time, if only because there will always be something new. Something better. But the memory of an experience in a new environment will remain untarnished forever because of it's unique impression in your memory. Nothing will ever replace or compare to the first time I stood on the balcony and looked out at the bustle of Grand Central Station or watched the sun sink below the New York Skyline for the first time. They are in a class by themselves, filed safely away with all the other memories I have of traveling to be cherished and used as motivation when life gets inevitably rough.
5. It Reminds You of What Life's Really About
When you're traveling, you are reminded of what's really important in this life. At the end of the day, all that really matters is who had the most fun. On a bit of a morbid note, the human experience we are currently having will end at some point. Traveling has a way of putting it all in perspective since you know, in the back of your mind, that you will be leaving. There's a set date for your departure, so you might as well get as much out of it as you possibly can. So even if your feet are aching from walking and even if you exhausted every last cent from your savings account, its all worth it because you have to take advantage while you’re still here. And it makes you wonder, would you love differently if you knew when you were going to die? Would you act differently if you could look at a pair of tickets that would bear you onward from this life? When you travel, you feel alive. When travel, you live how people are supposed to live. With wonder, ambition, and reckless abandonment.
