Traveling the world is one of the most common aspirations most young adults share. We're all guilty of adding pictures and articles that we never really read to that one "Travel" board on our Pinterest. When you have a naturally nomadic soul like mine, it's difficult to be forced to stay in one place. If you're anything like me you aspire to live from a suitcase someday and spend all your paychecks on plane tickets. You have a heart for travel. On the flip-side, maybe you're terrified of traveling. You wish not to venture outside your hometown's confines, and perhaps the thought of being in a plane makes your stomach turn. Either way, I'm here to let you know that whichever side you're on, you are not alone. But you really owe it to yourself to travel. It has more benefits than you think.
1. Being away will actually make you appreciate home more.
So you love your home, right? Then leave. It's true what they say. Distance does indeed make the heart grow fonder. When you miss your family, friends, pets, and bed you begin to realize how much you love them. We as humans often tend to take things for granted, but when we venture away from the people and things we love, coming back to them can be one of the most overwhelmingly satisfying experiences.
2. You become more educated.
Your brain is working hard while you're traveling. By diving into another country and culture, you are forcing your mind to be immersed in new languages and lifestyles. You can visit museums, sites, and other hotspots that offer information on the nation's history and culture. Learning things first-hand through the country's people and past can vastly improve your knowledge better than any teacher could explain. Stepping off of a plane can truly be more beneficial than stepping into a classroom.
3. You become more open.
The reality of traveling is the fact that you'll be challenged. A lot. You'll encounter races you've never even heard of, religions you don't believe in, and cultures that confuse you. The beauty of being exposed to all of this is that it'll change you. You'll meet the nicest Muslims or the most loving Africans. You'll see how your views of the world might've been completely wrong. You'll be able to shake yourself out of the rut you'd been living in: one of possible subconscious xenophobia. And you'll be able to broaden and expand your mind and become a more tolerant and accepting human. Prejudices are lost when you explore and meet new people.
4. You become way more interesting.
Going anywhere new calls for a good handful of stories. Even if you just find yourself on the other side of town, you could acquire tales of adventure of about how you ran into an old classmate or met the love of your life in a coffee shop or got lost on West 5th Street. Going to new places heightens your senses because you're taking everything in. You're obtaining all this new information that you're so excited about, it would be hard not to tell people about it. And if you have some pretty awesome stories about feeding a toucan in Brazil or riding camels in Jordan, people will find it hard not to listen.
5. You gain confidence.
Traveling (especially alone) really pushes you to become more independent. In order to be independent you need confidence. Being in a whole new place is terrifying. You're made to basically fend for yourself and navigate through the place you're in on your own. You don't know the people the geography the shortcuts or the restaurants. You feel like you're at the bottom of the totem pole. That gets better with time. You're forced to think like a local after a while. The more you travel, the more accustomed you become with trying new things. This makes them a lot less scary, and it in turn makes you a lot more confident.
6. You make new friends.
During your travels people are unavoidable, but that's a good thing! You may come across some of the best people you know or befriend people with whom you are the most compatible. Venturing to new places means new faces, personalities, and new experiences to hear about from individuals. You may have a run in with a tour guide or a couple in a marketplace. By taking the time to get to know the locals you may just end up gaining a whole new friend group in different corners of the world. Not to mention with the beauty of social media and the internet, keeping up with and fostering these newly found friendships will be easier than ever.
7. You gain new views on the world.
Most importantly, when you travel, you see a little bit more of the world. This can be a humbling experience no matter what. Seeing impoverished areas of this planet can make you take a step back an re-evaluate your life and its "problems." Sure, everyone's issues are usually valid, but the truth is after seeing how happy some people can be with a hut and one meal a day or no shoes or clean water, something in you changes. You're humbled, and to make a full circle back to my first point, you appreciate what you have more. Now, on the flip-side of that, if you need to be knocked down a peg and reminded how small you are, go to the Taj Mahal or take a drive through the richest parts of L.A. You'll quickly remember that you're maybe not the coolest thing on this planet since dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets.
Being exposed to the riches and tragedies of the world can lead to your becoming more content with your life which, naturally, can reduce levels of depression and stress. It's a win-win situation: you get a cool postcard and you come out happier!
