Now I know you’re wondering, “why is traveling important in my early 20s?” For a number of reasons actually. Everyone’s story is different and everyone grew up in a different household. Some families travel plenty with their kids and some don’t travel at all. Regardless, traveling in your 20s gives you an experience that traveling as kids with your family deprives you of.

First and foremost, you learn to deal with things on your own. Growing up as kids, you travel with your parents or with trusted adults, which means you’re mainly just there to look cute and enjoy the trip. while your chaperones are the ones planning it and dealing with any crisis that arises. You got lost? Not a problem, dad will figure it out on the two-year old map from the bus station. You’re hungry? That’s okay, mom will find the nearest food place while you take a nap in the back seat of the car. You didn’t have to worry about anything other than enjoying yourself, sleeping, and eating. Now, this is not to say that you don’t get to plan or travel on your own when you’re over the age of 16 and start driving. But you’re most likely still in high school and haven’t had much freedom or responsibilities. While traveling in your 20s means you’ve had a taste of some independence and plenty of responsibilities to go around. This is one of the reasons traveling in your 20s is important; learning to deal with everything on your own and managing every situation as responsibly as possible. It gives you a whiff of some real independence and responsibility. Now if you have moved out and been living on your own for awhile, you might already know what that feels like.

Another reason is when you’re a young adult, you’re still growing as a person and learning about yourself. You’re not a 100 percent sure about where you’re headed or how the result will affect you but you’re starting to get some idea of what you want from life. Spending time exploring and traveling to different cities and states helps you experience new people and places. It allows you to view everything from a whole new perspective and opens you up to a world of possibilities and opportunities. Maybe you thought you would never move out of your hometown but after traveling to San Francisco city, you’re already imagining yourself packing your bags for good and kissing your loved ones goodbye. Maybe you thought you would never leave San Francisco city, but after one weekend of visiting a small town in Southern California, you can't see yourself in the city again. Visiting different places and learning about a new city’s culture introduces you to doing things differently and helps you grow as a person as well. It can change your mindset and help guide you onto a different path in you life. And it feels almost refreshing when you realize that there is more to the world than the comfort of the corner you’ve been living in.

Lastly, traveling in your early 20s is super important because you will make the best memories with some of your most favorite people. You’ll take long road trips with your best friends, have deep and long life talks, you’ll bond and get lost together, and probably laugh your hardest trying to find your way back. You’re young, you’re at your healthiest, and you’re free from the major stresses that life will attack you with later on in the years. It’s the one of the finest times to travel and get to know yourself as you get to know the world around you. So take long drives to unfamiliar cities, drink your morning coffee with strangers, learn to laugh uncontrollably with your best friends, and get to know yourself in a way you never have before.