The Importance of Traveling During Your College Years

Our college years, usually ages 18-22, are the most important years in terms of development and growth. We are thrust into adulthood and independence in our living, decision making, and our future. It is not likely for many of the young adults navigating these years to find immediate success or freedom financially or socially, however it is likely that they (we) will make mistakes. We are meant to learn and mess up and fall down and get up and so much more during this time of our lives, so why not take advantage of this?

We have the world at our fingertips. Our bodies are in great shape for taking the chance and going on spantaneous trips or adventures - we can trip and scrape our knees, we can gorge ourselves with rich cultural foods, and we can manage to stay out late the night before a midterm. How lucky are we?

So, how exactly can we take advantage of such a prime? Well, it starts with:
1. Sacrifice: meaning we need to learn to balance the importance of certain activities or decisions. For example, is it worth it to sacrifice an extra day of study to go out for a day trip with your best friend?
2. Balance: meaning you can sacrifice certain things as long as you make an effort for them elsewhere. For example, if you were to cancel your study day to travel with your friend, maybe squeeze in an hour or two of study at a local coffee shop wherever you go? This allows you to soak in the adventures of the day, while ensuring you complete some of your needed tasks.
3. Discipline: meaning that balancing the sacrifices you made takes self-control. For example, if you set aside this time to study during your day trip, you need to own up to the responsibility of actually getting it done. Traveling as a student is going to be nearly impossible if you are incapable of stabilizing your to-do list.

If you manage to master these three key characteristics of traveling as a college student, you will find it surprisingly easy to incorporate trips throughout your semester!


With Love, Alena