Alright, first of all, no, "I don't have time," "I'm a broke college student" or "travel is too stressful." Hold the excuses for .03 seconds and hear me out.
There are two ways to go about this – the travel way and the vacation way. If you go with the vacation way your adventures will be more expensive, I promise. Instead of getting a plane ticket and booking that nice hotel for $150 a night, maybe try getting a train or bus ticket and using Airbnb to find cheap housing. Traveling with friends is even better, because then you can split the cost. Avoid the expensive tourist spots, too. I always like to take an uber ride and ask the driver if they have any suggestions for lesser known things to do.
Keeping up with the "travel way versus vacation way" theme here, if you decide to go the vacation way, your trip will be exponentially more stressful. Trying to plan out the perfect itinerary, hitting all the tourist spots, not to mention you're probably going to visit a popular destination with lots of other tourists and that means traffic and overpopulation. If you go the travel way, you can discover the ins and outs of a lesser-known destination without having to follow an itinerary. Letting the adventure unfold is so much more satisfying than trying to plan out every second of the day.
When it comes down to it, time is necessary for travel. I'm a full-time college student, I work 10-15 hours a week, I'm involved with student orgs, I write for Odyssey, somehow maintain a social life, and still make time to go travel. If I can make time, you can make time. Sometimes that means planning a month in advance for a weekend trip, and sometimes that means spur of the moment day trips when you have an unexpected day off. Everyone deserves that quick break from the daily routine and travel is the best way to accomplish it.
When you actually get out there – wherever 'there' may be – you'll be free. You can let go, relax and take some time off. Our lives are constantly packed, and you deserve some time to explore not only the world around you, but explore yourself as well.
