This is a list that could be infinite. I did my best to cut it to ten! So read up, realize the benefits of traveling and hit the road!
Long lasting relationships
While you travel you will encounter an incredible amount of people. Some of these people will be the best people you come to know. It will be hard to leave them but if nothing else, you’ll always have a reason to take a trip!
It Makes You Well Rounded
A professor I had in Greece once told me that the most you will ever learn is being out on the street and in the world. I couldn’t agree more. Traveling does just this. You will educate yourself without even realizing it. And when you get home, theres a good chance you’ll be the coolest kid at the party because of it.
Puts Adventure into your Life
This is unavoidable while you travel. You will regularly need to climb mountains, take long hikes, and take long train rides through strange lands. These are all adventures in themselves. If these sound to grand to you, something as simple as trying to order a cup of coffee can be one of the toughest adventures you face. Seriously, ordering coffee in a language you don’t speak is really difficult.
Self Confidence
While you travel you will constantly be proving to yourself that you can do things. You don’t need help or technology, sometimes all you need is you. You can read maps in languages you don’t understand and after you get from point A to point B, you will have a new sense of confidence in yourself that will never leave you.
Cool Stories
This one is pretty self explanatory. You will have countless cool stories and will once again, be the coolest kid at the party, or at least the most interesting!
Puts Life Into Perspective
My favorite part of traveling is the self reflecting process that takes place. After each new city, mountain, dish, and night out you will learn things about yourself and where you come from. You will see how people different from you live and this can be one of the most enlightening processes. You may find your values have changed which can be exciting and terrifying at the same time.
Laughing
Traveling usually encompasses a lot of laughing. Weather it’s tripping up on words when trying to speak a language you just learned out of a book or getting lost, it usually turns out funny. I would feel comfortable saying that it turns out funny 100% of the time when traveling with friends. Real friends won’t let you forget that time you made a right instead of a left and you ended up in the middle of a dance party on the streets of Berlin.
Food
Another thing that speaks for itself. You will taste the best food all over the world. Flavors and combinations you didn’t even know existed will end up on your plate and it will be the most delicious thing to ever happen to you.
Conquer Fears
Everyday you will do something scary. This is because traveling puts you out of your comfort zone and when you aren’t comfortable you tend to run into things that scare you. This can be asking strangers for advice and directions or working up the courage to skydive. Doing things foreign will help you conquer you fears and there is almost nothing more rewarding.
See the Coolest Things in the World
The Berlin Wall, the Acropolis, BigBen, the Great barrier Reef, the Shire, the top of Kilimanjaro, Parc Guell, do I need to continue? The best architecture, art, urban design, you name it and its out there. You just need to get there to see it. If there is one thing I can guarantee you, its this, nothing looks as good then when you see it with your own eyes. Pictures don’t do the beautiful things of the world justice. Get out there and see it all.
–Nick