Having immigrant parents meant that not all of my family members live in the United States. My mom’s side of the family resides all over the place, Afghanistan, England, Germany, and Canada. While my dad’s side lived in the Bay Area. Because my mom’s family is nowhere near us, we traveled a lot.

The first time I went to Afghanistan, I was only a few months old and as I have gotten older I’ve made my way back a few more times. Being a kid and traveling is different than being a mature adult and traveling.

The last trip I took before going off to college was more of a learning experience than the others times I have gone.

If you have the chance to travel the summer before going off to college, or even a summer in between your college years, you should give it a shot. There is something about getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing new cultures.

It can be life-changing and a way to understand how others live their lives.

In a world where we often forget that other people exist outside of our personal circle, it can be revolutionary to see the life of others and be a part of their culture for a change. Whether you go to a well-off country, like England, or a third-world country, like Afghanistan, there is no doubt you will feel grateful and in awe of the different lifestyles that exist. Sometimes it can easy to forget that your world is not the only world that matters.

Because my mother’s family did not live in the United States, we traveled a lot. I have been introduced to so many different lifestyles that have shaped my view of the world.

Before heading off to college, my last trip helped me firmly set my core beliefs and what I stood for. Interacting with different lifestyles can help see and understand that there are other beliefs you may actually want to adopt.

The idea is, living in one place and not venturing out and trying to see new lifestyles prevents a person from understanding that there are other ways of looking at ideas. Sometimes it takes getting out of your comfort zone to realize and learn that the way you have been living life may not have been the right way or the best way of living.

If you can, travel. If you have the opportunity to see how another part of this big world functions, I would say give it a shot. I can’t promise you that your experience will be a heavenly one, traveling rarely goes well (you may get dropped off in the middle of a busy freeway in Saudi Arabia wishing you had an English to Arabic dictionary for help) but every experience is an experience worth having.