By Reagan Ebb | Staff Writer
There are people in life who will tell you to work hard and save money to travel later in your life. They will tell you your dreams will come true “one day” when you are older, more established and financially stable. Those people are wrong.
In fact, your 20s are the perfect time to explore the world. We should be taking risks, going on adventures and making memories instead of playing it safe and worrying about the future.
In your 20s –– let’s be honest, friends –– we really do not know anything about life. We think we do, but we really don’t. We’ve experienced nothing and seen nothing, but we all think we have real-life experience because some of us have “had a real job” or have thousands of followers on social media platforms.
Traveling the world will expose you to ideas and cultures you may not be comfortable with, and this will make room for character growth. In short, young adults need to be exposed to ideas that go beyond their comfort bubble. We, as millennials, tend to approach the unknown with either fear or mockery. Too many times have I heard my surrounding peers make fun of other cultures for their “weird” or “stupid” traditions. It’s time we leave our comfort-zone to explore and embrace new ideas.
In the world we live in today, society has become vastly interconnected. This means that now, more than ever, exploring the world is relatively cheap. Young adults can reach so many extremely remote locations that today is the perfect time to branch out and meet people from all over the world. Not only should young adults meet locals while traveling, but we should also learn from them and embrace their culture.
Another benefit of traveling in your 20s is we truly have no idea who we actually are. Our minds are still developing and figuring out our passions and interests. It’s important to displace yourself from your usual, comfortable lifestyle and experience the endless opportunities that life has to offer. Culturing oneself with the rich histories of other countries will help you discover your sense of self. You will find yourself changing into a more compassionate and knowledgeable person.
The real value of traveling is not the souvenirs you buy or the selfies you take, but it’s the people you’ll meet, the off-the-beaten-path roads you’ll get lost on and the memories you’ll hold forever. Let’s take advantage of our young, wild and free nature by exploring some place new and unforgettable.
