When I was 14 years old my parents drove me to Seattle-Tacoma airport to drop me off along with around 20 other kids that were strangers to me. We arrived and I was relieved to see there were other people in khaki pants, maroon shirts, and a giant lanyard around their necks as a name tag. We were the People to People Student Ambassadors chosen to represent the Seattle area on our journeys. Everyone told their parents goodbye and we were off to see the world.

Sometimes I regret choosing to travel so young. While it was an amazing opportunity that I will cherish forever, it didn’t mean that much to me. At the time, this trip was just a cool experience and could go back to school the next year and tell people I went to Europe for the summer. We saw where the original Olympic Games took place. We walked through the ancient city of Pompeii and hiked Mount Vesuvius. We were taught traditional Greek dancing in the heart of Athens and went on scavenger hunts through Rome. We saw Paris from the birds-eye view the Eiffel Tower provides, and rode gondolas through Venice.

A few years later I took a trip to Costa Rica with my high school science teacher and about 12 other students. We went all over the country, from the beaches and ocean to an ecolodge hidden in the forest. Even though we only saw one country and culture, I learned so much more. I think it was only because I was older and really understood what effect traveling can have on your views and ideas as a person.

Eyeopening Worldliness

Traveling at a younger age can really change your point of view. Adolescence is when we are the most impressionable. Being able to immerse yourself in a foreign country and culture is life changing for anyone. When we’re young, it has even more of an impact. You realize the insignificance and significance of yourself. When you're exposed to conditions that you couldn’t even imagine living in, it really puts life into perspective. For example, when anyone asks me how I liked Greece I tell them it was awful. All I remember about the place itself is that we were by the ocean, it was 115 degrees and humid. The streets were absolutely disgusting and filled with trash. You had to throw toilet paper in the trash because their plumbing system wasn’t equipped to handle it. That’s such small aspect of something that changed my view, but let me tell you, I’ve never taken our plumbing system in America for granted since. Things like that you don’t realize actually have an impact on your daily life, unless your toilet breaks of course.

In Costa Rica, the UV rays are insane. There are bugs everywhere. I was okay with both of these things. However, I could have probably used more sunscreen and bug spray. There were only a few places we went where we could buy that kind of stuff. It changed my viewpoint on how accessible everything is to us here. Literally anything we need is right there for us, but that's not how it is for everyone.

Pick-pocketing is Real.

Imagine being 6,000 miles away from home and having no way of accessing money. After a day of gallivanting through the streets of Rome we returned to our hotel for the night and after my hair straightener exploded from using the wrong power adapter, my debit card was missing also. As a group, before we left for Europe we were given a lot of information on how to avoid this happening and where to keep your belongings. We just assumed it was pick-pocketed. Even if it just fell out of my bag, that was enough to jump start a panic attack and never carry any form of money anywhere expect under my clothing in one of those geeky lanyard wallets places sell for travel. You don’t think something like that will happen to you until it does.

Respect

Traveling at a young age has taught me one of the most important traits in my opinion. It taught me that it’s okay to be different. It’s okay to have opinions and no to be scared to voice them. Everyone all over the world is different, as well as their cultures and views. Going to many foreign places at a young age taught me that it doesn’t matter that someone doesn’t agree with you or you them, as long as you can respect the fact that they are entitled to their own way of life, so are you. I became fascinated with the different dialect of Spanish that Costa Rican's speak, so I bought a mini dictionary and read it the whole trip. It's all about being willing to open your mind to how other people are.

I think if anyone at any age has the opportunity to experience another culture, do it! If you know a younger person that wants to see the world and are going to, make sure they live in the moment. Make sure they absorb everything they are experiencing.