I've always wanted to travel and I think everyone has at one point or another in their life. Since I was in high school, I can remember seeing pictures of places or learning about a place in class and just thinking about how cool it would be to see that place in person.
Since I've been in college, the idea of traveling has become even more appealing to me. Traveling somewhere alone or with friends and learning about other people and cultures sounds incredible to me. There are several opportunities through my college to go on trips to places overseas, or even places in the United States, and it has gotten me thinking about why I should travel while I'm in college.
In college you're figuring out who you are, what you want to do and who you want to be, so why not do it while traveling to other countries? You're young and if you have the time and resources, why not take advantage of every opportunity you're presented with? I'm not trying to be incredibly cliché, but this is the youngest you're going to be and you never know what could happen between now and the future. You don't want to look back on your life years from now and wonder what would have happened if you would've done something differently.
The things you'll learn from traveling to places yourself won't compare to actually being there and seeing it for yourself. You'll also learn how to be independent and do things for yourself. You'll not only develop your own view on things, but you'll also have a worldview in mind. It's important to not only be in touch with what's going on around you, but other people around the world as well.
I understand that traveling can be expensive, but there are ways around that.There are several programs for college students that you can look into that cut down costs or make it affordable for young adults to be able to travel. It doesn't have to be for long periods of time either. You can go for spring break, Christmas break, or summer break, and the best part about it is that it's completely up to you. You have all the time in the world at this point in your life, so take advantage of it. In a few short years we'll have careers and may have to make important decisions that will affect the people we met during our travels.
As we've all heard before, life is about taking risks, so why not? Buy a plane ticket, travel across the globe, learn about other cultures, meet new people, experience new things and get out of your comfort zone. I promise you, you won't regret it.
