Before my brother suggested we take a trip to Merida, Mexico, I was previously perfectly content with a day spent with friends, spending my summer at home or a day wasted huddled up on the couch watching TV.

I, made my first "adult" decision, a purchase that drained my bank account (I am a broke college girl.) all without the permission of my parents and bought a $244 ticket to Mexico.

Since those days I spent in Mexico, I suddenly realized that's so much I want to see and learn. My mind started to expand as I immersed myself in a culture that wasn't my own, and a language that I barely knew and understood. I suddenly had the deepest desire to be adventurous and ideas like jumping out of planes, diving in cenotes, devouring some of the strangest foods, trekking across mountains, and swimming under waterfalls were no longer fears of mine but ones that appealed to me.

Since that day, my mind runs on where to go next. I was never one who enjoyed history but suddenly I did. I yearned to learn more and open up my mind to how others live.

It turned a girl whose incredibly cheap and would dare to spend money on anything into a girl who has a crippling addiction of saving up for another flight to see more of the world and seek more adventures.

Since those days, I am no longer mesmerized by fine items or have a taste for luxurious things. They simply don't appeal to me anymore. I now have a taste for new foods, a desire to have encounters with friendly people, and stories I can tell for days and years to come. I now value experiences, capturing the beauty of nature and anything adventure related over any materialistic item.

Here's 5 reason why you too, should travel. It'll be the best decision of your life.

1. You'll discover delicious foods.

If you are anything like me, food really is life. The aromas are simply incredible and you will no longer be pleased with the Americanized versions. You'll soon become greedy in wanting authentic foods from various places.

2. You'll meet incredible people.

Although the language was a bit of a barrier making it somewhat difficult to understand what it was they were saying or their version of English, the sweet music played on the streets, everyone dressed with the biggest smiles and all of those who continually lend a hand, eager to help you find your way makes it that much more addicting to travel.

3. You learn a whole lot.

I learned the value of independence and the importance of getting out of my cushy comfort zone. I learned that there's a big world out there and my mind is so minuscule, I needed to soak in how other's live, their history and culture or their political systems and so on.

4. Traveling will force you to adapt to change.

I regrettably purchased my sibling's tickets while failing to buy my own. We were packed and ready to go only to find out what became a nightmare at 4 in the morning. However, I learned to hold myself together and adapt and buy myself a ticket.

5. Traveling anywhere will make the history books come alive.

And it has the ability to show us unknown mysteries that linger on to this day. It also shows us how capable (or in some cases traveling isn't for everyone) we are. It'll show us facts about ourselves that no professor or teacher can explain

Wanderlust is a feeling that has incredible power, and I know that I feel it just about every day. I don’t have a bucket list of things I want to buy, instead, I have a bucket list of things I want to d, and places I would like to travel and see.

So, I urge you to not fill your closet with tons of clothes but fill your passport with stamps and your head with unforgettable memories and have your heart scattered around from place to place.