Do you think traveling is important for people to experience? Although we acknowledge that traveling may be a privilege for most individuals, we should realize that there are countless benefits that you can acquire exclusively by traveling. Traveling can be a setback for those who may not be financially stable enough but we, as students, have a tremendous advantage: scholarships. Students could, and should, take advantage of the fact that we’re young and most of us do not have any serious obligations holding us back. And by obligations, I specifically mean we don’t have as many responsibilities as adults do! Our prime purpose as students in high school is to consistently obtain successful grades in our classes, not paying bills. Of course, I’m not implying that you should drop out of school to travel the world, but with options like study abroad and gap years, students now have an incredible opportunity to take advantage of ways to travel in college.

Even if you’re worried about financial problems that’s why there is an abundant amount of scholarships that many colleges give to students that are just like you and I. When we are traveling to a different country, we witness different cultures and how people differ when interacting with one another. Furthermore, this is completely accurate and such an understatement, as well. As personal experience I’ve been to several countries around the world and nothing is better than seeing the differences among cultures firsthand. Sure, learning about different cultures in history may be fun for some people but there really is no comparison between the two when it comes to real-life experience!

Remember when I mentioned that you can acquire certain benefits exclusively by traveling? Well here they are: cultural awareness, worldly experience, improved problem solving, gain new perspectives, and making connections. Whether we travel short-term or for an extensive period of time, we can apply these valuable skills in our future careers. Most importantly, we learn to become more independent especially when you’re traveling to a country where English is not their official language. Ultimately, you will be able to gain valuable advice to share with others. The world as we know it is expanding at an exponential pace, and to be immersed and experienced with all different types of cultures is extremely important. Whether you are in politics or medicine, the world is like a book, and you can only truly understand it by reading every single page. When you decide to start reading that book, and travel in college, you pick up some observations along the way.