Traveling somewhere always has some way of changing you. It opens up the world to you in so many ways. As a kid, you don’t really notice these things because you’re at Disney World, taking pictures with princes and princesses because your parents told you to. But now, as I have traveled to a few states and even to Europe, each trip (that I can remember) has taught me something about myself. I have also contracted the “travel bug” which has no known cure, fortunately for me.

The first thing that generally happens when you begin to travel is that you realize how big the world actually is. When I traveled to the Pacific Northwest after my sophomore year in high school, I remember being almost amazed that I was standing in the waves of the Pacific Ocean just mere days after being at home on the east coast. That was the trip that started my travel bug contraction. My mom and I explored beaches, cities, forests, a wooden maze, and Yellowstone National Park, all completely on the other side of the continent from my sleepy little town. As a kid in school, you know the world is large by looking at a globe, but it doesn’t register that there are things out there to explore and discover until you actually get out there and look for those things.

When you travel to different countries, you experience something special. You are face to face with another culture, another language, and another cuisine. Getting the chance to experience those thoroughly was hard to come by for me, until People to People Student Ambassadors came along and offered it to me in one single sheet of paper. I traveled to Spain, France, and Italy in the summer of 2013. Seeing another culture in front of my face and even living with a Spanish family taught me a lot about how other people live their lives. It also gave me a sense of empathy. If the chance ever arises to discover new cultures in a different country, seize it. Go and explore whether by yourself, with family, or with a structured group like People to People. Experience a different culture and be rewarded with new knowledge and fresh curiosity.

Traveling can change you. As I’m well aware, most people are afraid of change. Even the word incites some sort of fear even in the most meaningless places. Do not let the prospect of change deter you from traveling. Sometimes, change is good and necessary. While on my People to People trip, I realized that some parts of myself really weren’t what I had believed and I became confused for years. Steadily, I realized that I changed myself through meeting new people, and I believe that trip helped make me become who I am today. You never know if travel will change who you are unless you go do it. My advice is to travel and don’t care who comes out of it at the end.

One example of how I changed through traveling was I became more open-minded and empathetic towards people. I believe this happened because I was seeing things and meeting new people without someone that was there to influence my opinions of people. I was on my own and I was making my own opinions from my initial experiences, not from the words or opinions of other people. After my trip, I may have not noticed the seemingly minute changes that had taken place, but other people did. For example, I had used to dread sitting in my grandfather's kitchen, listening to him talk about topics that enraged my inner animal welfare activist. Now, I enjoy discussing topics with him, such as the local birds that show up depending on the time of year or if his resident red-tailed hawk has returned to bother his racing pigeons. I believe that this travel opportunity that I took changed me from a mindless pawn that would believe the words of others into a person with their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions about the people and the world around us, and my relationships with others has certainly prospered as a result of my, honestly unintentional, change.

When the option is given to travel, you should take it. Even if the location is on the other side of the state or on the other side of the world. You could become a different person by the time you return home or you could just come home with stories of your adventures. Being out in the world will show you how other people live and how other cultures work. You might even get a taste for escargot in France or squid ink pasta in Italy. You never know what is going to happen and that is the beauty of travel.