I have been told that I am irresponsible or being rash in pursuing every spontaneous trip I have chosen to go on. "Where do you find the money, the time?" They ask me. "You're in college, shouldn't you be saving?" Although this is true, I have spent many days of eating only Ramen noodles and hoarding of tips to save money for my everyday survival during these pivotal years of my life, a part of me is unswayed in my pursuits for taking my voyages into the unknown. To those people, I would like to clarify that there is not one dollar that I regret spending on gas money, site seeing, experiences, plane tickets, or cuisines throughout even my few years of traveling. I have gained unprecedented fulfillment from the individuals that I have met and the enlightenment that I was exposed to whilst embarking on my adventures. The connections I have developed with my travel partners, and even strangers on the street, are ones that are forever imprinted in my brain. The inhale-exhale of standing atop a mountain post-hike at sunset; gazing down over a city of lights in a skyscraper; or even dancing in a bar as if nobody's watching, in a mysterious place where nobody knows your name or your story—these are the breaths that seem to stop time. Investing in your travel expenditures is not just a one-time material purchase, as it is with most things.

When you invest in travel, you invest in yourself. You invest in personal growth, mental expansion, cultural appreciation, and a more worldly, well-rounded sense of self. There is a type of knowledge that cannot be fully digested through reading a textbook or sitting in a lecture hall. Until you completely submerse yourself in wherever you are journeying to, allowing yourself to be a part of a place you cannot claim as your own, that knowledge remains untouched. In a vault, deep in the subconscious, waiting to be unlocked by the key that you choose to find. Regardless of if you traveled across your own state, to the other end of the country, or to the other side of the world, there is always something new to be learned and a different opportunity for development, understanding, and maturation.

So, spend the money you hardly have and splurge on concert tickets or go on a road trip with your best friend while you're still young and can do so. Spend weeks sleeping in your car in different states before you have the commitments of a career or a family. Stay up all night, every night, taking in every moment of your vacation and laugh during the times that you're overtired from adventure fueled by caffeine, temporary moments of bliss and mental photographs. Skip the plan; just pack up and go. Money can always be made again. Recollections of the times that you passed up cannot. I promise, when you're the one someday sharing all the stories and memories of your exhilarating escapades, you'll be glad that you did.