There is no better time to travel than when you’re young and full of spunk. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, and one day you’ll find yourself living in an assisted living facility, potentially wishing you would have done more in life. If you’ve got the travel bug, but you’re not sure whether your younger years are the time to do it, here are some reasons you should consider starting now.
Physical Health
While your age doesn’t always indicate a clean bill of health, statistically in your younger years you are much less susceptible to injuries and illnesses. Traveling can be extremely physically demanding, and as such it can be problematic in your older years. Navigating the airport, and hauling around heavy suitcases requires force and stamina. And your younger years, those are two things that you have plenty of.
Take advantage of your younger years to travel so that you know you can enjoy your trip without having to worry about injury or illness along the way. There’s nothing worse than poor health when you’re trying to have a vacation.
Personal Growth
When you travel, you step into an entirely different reality, and you give yourself the opportunity to grow. Travel pushes you outside of your comfort zone, and helps you develop a new way of thinking and living that you never knew before.
Not to mention, traveling can help you develop important life skills like adaptability and problem solving. For many people, there’s nothing more challenging and life changing than having to navigate through a country where you don’t speak the same language. Through your travel experiences you’ll develop a deeper understanding not only of yourself but the world around you.
Global Perspective
Unfortunately, Americans are one of the most ethnocentric cultures on the planet. They live in a bubble of their own mentalities and culture as a result of a lack of travel. When you immerse yourself into another culture you start to broaden your perception of the world, and you realize that there are other ways of seeing and doing things.
If more people witnessed different traditions and cultures, perhaps the world would be more tolerant as a whole. If you hope to make the world a better place, look no further than traveling to help enhance your understanding of world issues.
Networking
When you travel you make all sorts of connections and friendships wherever you go. Networking can be a wonderful tool to help you navigate through life. The more traveling you do, the more people you will meet along the way, thus increasing your network.
These are just a few of the benefits that traveling young can offer. So, pack your bag and seize the moment, and travel when you’re young!