By: Eileen MacTigue
To improve is to change. To perfect is to change often.
Personally, I don’t understand the desire of waiting to travel. We are only young once. And lets face it, being young is so much better than the alternative. Why wouldn’t you want to travel when you are looking, feeling [and drinking] the best you ever will? Here is a list of reasons why it is ideal to spend your post college years in new places with new people.
1. Find yourself. Cliche? Maybe, but so true. This is the time we can let go of the people, places, and habits we have grown accustomed to. In leaving everything to explore someplace new, we are forced outside of our comfort zone, ultimately exposing our true selves.
2. Open minded. We are raised by the people we love, but maybe with age, we realize we have differing beliefs from those people. You want to see life through your own eyes. Can you do this by remaining around the life you’ve always lived? “The experience of another culture endows the traveler with a valuable open-mindedness, making it easier for him or her to realize that a single thing can have multiple meanings” – Jonah Lehrer
3. Discover your imagination. You had a wild imagination as a child and probably throughout those high school and college years. Have you ever wondered what formed your unique imagination? You haven’t seen these places, met these people, eaten this food. Without even realizing, you are expanding your inner creativity by unveiling yourself to the rest of the world that is out there. You are 1 of 7.1 billion people living on this planet. Your imagination came from something. Go find it. The most creative people are the ones who live outside the box.
5. Create synergistic relationships. Synergy is the collaboration of two or more entities with the common goal of creating an outcome greater together, than two disparate results. Language barriers are the most common issue with travel. So don’t look at them as an issue…more of an experience. People who travel are forced to find new ways to communicate and come to an understanding. Without realizing, you are creating synergy everyday you travel and immerse yourself in new cultures. This is a skill most companies cannot teach you, yet will expect you execute in daily operations. Traveling naturally prepares you for the real world in ways that may not even occur to you.
6. Understanding. We have all met the people who cannot see the benefits in travel. Those parents that expect you to get a job quickly following graduation to pay off your student loans. I feel great sympathy for those people; the people who have not lived and have little grasp of outside opinions. Travel builds an understanding of the outside world that many people will never ever see…and what a shame. Every time I experience a new culture or way of life, I grow and restructure my perspectives.
7. 30’s…. Not much explantation needed. 10 years from now comes real responsibility.
8. Experience globalization. This is a relatively new word that has been trending over the past few years. Our different worlds are connecting at an exponential rate due to growth in technology, social media, and increasing unbiased stances. Globalization is at its peak, and being a part of generation Y, we should not only be learning about these new connections, but participating as well. The world was not always this accepting and we have more opportunities than ever to continue the change in beneficial ways.
