It's easy enough to look at social media and see perfect pictures from everyone's trips and assume that traveling is easy...and look, "stay in an all-inclusive resort, drink all day party all night traveling" is easy.

But when you're jealous of everyone backpacking Europe, volunteering abroad, or embarking on breathtaking trips, remember this: there is more to traveling than what you see on social media.

The truth about traveling is that it isn't always pretty. It isn't always fun.

There are often long plane rides connected to another plane ride longer than you can imagine. Once you get to the new country and are ready to explore, you might get sick from the water, the altitude, or anything else. Then you choose between missing once-in-a-lifetime sights or feeling like death while you see them.

Any experienced traveler knows that to beat the other tourists, the heat, or take the first tour, you have to get up early. You may have three mornings in a row where you get up at 4AM - and no one seems to be sharing that on Instagram.

There will be mornings where you got up early, feeling groggy and sick, only to see a sight you paid lots to see and have it turn out horribly. Maybe your adventure looks nothing like the pictures in the advertisements, or it ends up pouring rain the entire day, but no matter what the reason, it happens to everyone. There will be overnight buses where you can't sleep because the person next to you is reading or snoring.

There will be more unexpected twists and turns to your trip than I could list on paper.

But it will be worth it.

Traveling is an enriching, incredible opportunity, and no matter how many setbacks there are, the trip is ALWAYS worth it. Just don't believe the truth you see on social media that traveling is just gorgeous views, ocean swims, and sipping champagne - there's a lot more to it.