Even hearing the word “travel” makes me feel excited. I get that feeling of letting loose, of letting go all the weight that I am carrying around. It does not matter whether it is a trip for a weekend or a six month visit to another country. The main point is to get away from everything and to break out of the daily routine. Facing your dreams, whishes, fears and to see the beauty of our world with your own eyes does not only make you wiser, it makes you realize how lucky we are, to live on this planet. The Earth is varied, we have beautiful old and new cities, canyons, mountains, lakes, deserts, oceans, volcanoes, cultures and so much more. We have to start to see the value of our planet, our earth. We need to start opening our eyes. Why is Traveling so important? Why does it change your point of view? Why is it one of the best things we can do?
- Traveling opens your eyes
As I said before, it makes you realize how different our world can be. We can keep on buying calendars for christmas with those stunning images of waterfalls, mountains, lakes etc. but why are we not going there ourselves? What is holding us back? If you get the chance to take off and go on a vacation, do it. There is no doubt that you will start to change your view on this place we call our home. Open your eyes and yourself for the breathtaking beauty, diversity and incredibility of the earth.
Great Smoky Montains Nationalpark (North Carolina, Tennessee, United States of America)
2. Finding yourself
You will get to know yourself better whilst traveling. Why? Because you start noticing what matters most to you. What are your main essentials you will never forget to put in your backpack? What kind of souvenirs will you bring back home with you? Who will be the first one to get a postcard from you? What are you really interested in? Are you someone who enjoys the silence and unspoiled state of the nature, or do you like those loud and vibrating cities with their extravagant night life? How are you dealing with difficulties? You will find out all of these questions. After time you will know exactly what kind of traveler you are and what is important to you.
Kotor (Montenegro, Europe)
3. Meet new people
Traveling often creates relationships. You can find yourself a traveling companion or you will get to know new people everywhere you go. A friendship lasting over distance and time is so precious. You will always have someone you can visit again in another country, or even on another continent. Having friends all over the world, is definitely one of the most wonderful things that can happen to you.
Tara River Canyon (Montenegro and Bosnia- Herzegovina)
4. Because we can
Getting from Europe to Afrika was not always as easy as it is for us today. We can start in New York and we will be in Berlin nine hours later. We do not need to sail over the ocean for weeks on an old ship without hygiene anymore. Riding on a plane is actually pretty pleasant in comparison to that. Even if it is not that comfortable for you, the destination is worth it. Today we have our bikes, cars, trains, planes and cruisers. The people who lived two decades ago would have dreamed about traveling like this.
Montenegro (Europe)
5. Find out about skills, you did not know you had
May be you are an absolute spontaneous person, may be you can climb mountains in a time you would have never expected from yourself, may be you are so open and kind that you can find friends easily all over the world and may be you are the perfect guide for your friends. Who knows? The only way you can find out about your hidden talents is to start traveling.
Bahia Honda State Park (Florida, United States of America)
6. Learn new languages
As far as I have traveled, I can tell you it is always better to speak more languages than just english. Of course people will understand you, but if you really want to understand a different culture, learn their language. It does not matter if it is spanish, chinese, french or german. Learning a new language does not only bring you closer to different cultures and new people, it will also improve your brain activity.
Slovenia (Europe)
7. Find adventures
Try out new things. What about diving in the Pacific ocean, hiking on top of the world in the Himalaya, see the dry landscape of the Atacama desert, canyoning in those crystal clear rivers, skiing in the Rocky mountains? We can do it all. We can see all of this and we can live this. Keep that in mind.
Budapest (Hungary)
8. Educate yourself
Learn how to cook for yourself without having the next big supermarket right around the corner, learn how to pitch a tent, how to get around in a new city, read a map, organize yourself and more. Find out about your limits and go past them. Get wiser with every minute and hour you are away from your own comfort zone.
Alabama (United States of America)
9. Value our world
This planet we live on is absolutely gorgeous. Some day we might be able to live on the moon, or the mars, who knows. Right now, we have our earth, our own little planet in a universe so big that we do not know five percent of it. This is all we have right now. Nothing more and nothing less. We have the deep blue oceans, the flora and fauna, the enormous mountains and billions of different people. We only have this one life right now, one chance to see this beauty with our own eyes. Take this chance, explore our earth and start to value its loveliness, uniqueness and variety.
Nashville, Tennessee (United States of America)
10. Make your dreams come true
You have a world map as a poster on your wall, may be a picture of the Grand Canyon, or a painting of the Niagara Falls? Go there yourself at least once in your lifetime and take your very own photo. Imagine yourself standing next to the Niagara Falls, feeling the wind in your hair and those small drops of water hitting your nose, imagine seeing the Grand Canyon with your own eyes and feeling the red and brown ground beneath your feet and imagine to mark more and more places on your world map because you have already visited them. What do you feel whilst thinking about those things? Do you feel the urge to start moving towards those dreams, to start booking a flight, to ask your friends if they want to come with you, do you want to finally say to yourself: “I will do this now?”? Do it. Believe in your dreams and make them come true.
Florida (United States of America)
Traveling is important. It is important for your own development and for our world. More people should start valuing our home. We need to save it. Today we have all the opportunities to travel. We do not even need much money to see the world. Live now, pursue your dreams, find yourself and grow with time. Educate yourself, feel yourself, get to know your limits, broaden your perspective, learn new languages, meet new friends and see different cultures. Take your chance and see the world. Do it now. Traveling does not have to be your entire life, but traveling is happiness and for the most people happiness is their goal of life.
