Why traveling during college might be the best time


A lot of people stress the importance of travel, especially for college students. It’s often seen as a rite of passage, something you do just before you take those first steps into adulthood. Most of the time, people will suggest that college is the best time to travel, but this idea has fallen into disrepute recently, especially with rising costs of college living. However, when everything is taken into account, those hazy college years might still be the best ones for filling up your rucksack and making your way across the globe.

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You’re open to new experiences

As long as you’re doing college right, it’s a time when you feel very adventurous and open to new things. As such, there aren’t many better times to go out and see everything the world has to offer. With your wide college-student eyes, you’ll be excited about every new landmark you see, from the biggest mountain-top temple to the smallest commemorative rock. You’ll be enthralled by any and every new cultural experience you engage with, as you see the many different dimensions of human life around the globe. The spirit of adventure that you tend to possess in college is perfect for walking out into the world with open arms, and seeing what it puts in front of you.

It’s a good time to see new things

One of the best things about traveling is that it broadens your horizons, and expands your notions about life and culture. Given this benefit, it’s really the earlier the better as far as traveling is concerned. Don’t get us wrong, it’s great to go out there when you’re 80 years old and learn to love things that are different from what you know. However, the sooner that you embark upon this kind of project, the more time you’ll have to live your life according to this philosophy. Traveling at a young age can help to make you a more tolerant and understanding person throughout your life, which is certainly a goal worth pursuing.

It’s good business

Obviously you should go traveling for the experience itself, but a very neat side-effect is that it also makes you a lot more employable. For a start, employers like people with wide experience and varied perspectives. Having gone out to see the world, bringing back what you’ve learned will reflect well on your character as an employee. It’s also a great crash-course in organization and adaptability. When traveling you need to arrange your transport, your lodging, budget for yourself, and know how to get by in an unfamiliar place. Experience in these things makes you much more attractive to potential employers.

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It’s a good time in life

The key advantage of using your time at college to travel is that you’re much freer than at most other times in your life. College stops for a few months at a time each year, which is certainly not something that can be said for a day-to-day job. What’s more, when you’re a college student your material responsibilities aren’t as numerous. It’s very unlikely that you’ll be working full-time to make ends meet, and you won’t have a mortgage or rent to deal with. Obviously it’s not a walk in the park to just save enough money to travel for a few months while studying – but it’s much more doable, and your time is much more flexible. Add student discounts to that package, and college really does look like the best time to go traveling.

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