A Bold Trip, Even Bolder Motivations

This is my first post on this blog, and for a couple days, I've been thinking about what type of post would be the most fitting. Despite thinking about it from time to time, I think I always knew what my first post would be. It

's not going to be the first day of my trip, it's going to be an explanation on why I think almost everyone should take a 6 month to year long trip around their country (or another one).

On June 28th, I am beginning a year long trip around the states. I will dive into specifics in my next post, but for this post, I find this sufficient. I plan on making a second version of this at the very end of my trip as a sort of look-back on how I've grown and changed. This post will include 5 core reasons why almost everyone should endure some kind of travel before they officially begin the post-high school phase of their life. It will also act as a deep dive of sorts into why I am personally taking this trip. So without further ado, lets dive in.

1. See What The World Has to Offer

   The world is a really diverse place. Now I'm certainly not the first person to make this observation, but it's something that get's lost on a lot of people, especially in the age of social media. The United States alone has 50 separate states, and while a lot of them are smililar, the very nature of a country being born from immigration, means that there is a great deal of diversity within it. It's not just the U.S. either. Europe is composed of a series of separate nations that each have unique cultures within them. However, one may argue that it isn't necessary to travel a country to see diversity, after all, I can just watch a video of a different country. This kind of thinking isn't nessesarily wrong, it doesn't account for being completely immersed in said unique cultures. Seeing a different country or region through photos or videos isn't the same thing as being forced to interact and survive with it. You might not realize it, but the world is a big place, and you just live in one small corner of it.

2. Grow As a Person

   Throughout our lives, the great majority of people develop a personality and a series of skills that are suited to help them survive the everyday struggle of a 9-5 and their home region. That is how we've continued to exist as a species for hundreds of thousands of years. However, that personality and that set of skills isn't designed to help you grow as a person and reach your true potential. Those tools may help you survive, but they don't help you thrive. Touching on the last point, being immersed in a setting that you aren't familiar with is a really sobering experience. You may not even realize it, but your personality and skill set will be forced to grow as you adapt to new cultures. For example, one might travel to Australia and have a hard time understanding the Australian accent. If that person seeks to survive in Australia, their understanding of language and dialects will be forced to slowly develop and become more encompassing. Having a tailored set of skills can certainly be useful, but expanding your horizons is the only way to truly grow as an individual.

3. Get to Know Yourself

   If you were trapped in a burning building with a bunch of other people, do you honestly know what your first instinct would be? Most of us would instinctively say "yes", but truthfully, we have no idea. To a larger extent, most of us don't really even know what we would do if we were alone in the woods. The large majority of us try to constantly fill our conscience with external noise. Subconsciously, we're afraid to be alone with our thoughts, but what we don't realize is that that is the only way to truly understand ourselves. One of my flight instructors once told me that he believed a person doesn't truly know themselves until they are placed in a life or death scenario, and while I certainly think he is right to some extent, he actually falls just short of an undeniable truth. The only way you can truly know yourself is to constantly put yourself in new situations with new variables. To travel and constantly experience new exeriences. Then, you can analyze your reaction and maybe even discover something you didn't realize about yourself. This will not only help you in times of crisis, but you may discover that you actually be naturally talented at something you'd never of before.

4. Create Memories That Last Forever

   Now this might be the most common and obvious reason for vacations and travel, but it doesn't make it any less important. Although I don't want this blog to turn into a psychology report, it is scientifically proven that the more positive memories and genuine experiences a person has, the longer they are expected to live. We often get caught up in the boring mandanity of life, and start to develop unhealthy habits or mentality's, ut having something that can stimulate us and re-energize us when times get tough, is a powerful way to prevent from slumps from bringing us down. As stated in my first point, the world is full of thousands of unique cultures and people that you still have yet to meet. Even if you only go out and travel for a month, that is still a month of memories that you will have for the rest of your life. A month of memories that could even drive you to make more. Not to mention that you'll get to brag about it to your friends and family.

5. It May Be Your Last Chance

   Travel and exploration is important for anyone, no matter the age or personality, but there is a very specific reason why I encourage people to travel before post-secondary education. For any youth that is currently moving into the workforce or college, you may not realize it, but you're heading straight for the rat race. If you don't know, the rat race is a popular economic phrase that refers to a situation or lifestyle where individuals are caught in a cycle of constant striving for their own survival or for greater material wealth. At first, it may seem like the rat race is just a term used to quantify the struggle for wealth, but in actuality, it is a trap that our society uses to bring people into an unhealthy, disastrous work life, and keep them there. Everyone makes the mistake of thinking that they are above the rat race. They think they will become the next billionaire and then retire and do whatever they so choose, but that is exactly what the rat race wants you to think. Whoever you are, whether you be a teenager on the college track or a blue collar 9-5 worker, I encourage you to go see the world now, because it may be your last chance to do so. Once you settle into the non-stop hustle and bustle of a 9-5, you won't have the chance to do it again. I have a friend who claims that once he finishes college, he is going to go on a trip around the world just like me, and God bless him, but he is dead wrong. As much as I hope and believe that my friend will find the finances and motivation to travel, I know that once he enters the rat race he will never leave.

So, with all of my five points at the forefront of your mind, I leave you with an ultimatum: go take 6 months to a year and go travel to places that you haven't seen yet. Go take a leap of faith and become a better version of yourself. I realize it's scary, but there is a world of opportunities out there for you, and they might not always be there. If you still aren't sure if you want to travel, my blog will be here for you. I will be updating this blog with new posts over the course of a year, and encourage you to follow along. Hopefully, at the end of my travels, I will have encouraged some of you to do the same.