I know. I know. We always sit here and say, “Well I don’t have money now or I don’t have time. I’ll get out and see the world once I’m rich and in a stable position in my life with less responsibilities.” The problem is, so many of us say this and we continue to say it until it’s too late. That’s why I’m telling you not to put it off until tomorrow but to go travel and see the world today. It can be someplace near or someplace far. But every second that you spend waiting to travel until tomorrow is another second that you spend getting older and less able to travel, as well as another second closer to more responsibility.
So many people say, “I’m going to travel once I’m retired.” I can tell you that after exhausting travels around Europe that does not seem like a great idea to me. You’re just so much more limited. I mean, I, as a young 20-something, struggled on many of my adventures. Most weekends, I would walk marathon distances (I once walked a marathon even in just one day). Visiting the Roman Coliseum, I remember thinking to myself, how did these people climb these stairs? I mean the stairs are like stairs made for giants. I was afraid of falling and hurting myself. My legs also didn’t appreciate the sheer force it took to climb them. Traveling at an older age makes visiting new places much more difficult and can take away from the experiences. You just can’t do as much.
No matter how old you are, 20, 30, 40, don’t wait your whole life to travel, especially if it’s something that gives meaning to and enriches your life – which I think is possible for anyone. I went to Europe for the first time as a young 20-something, just a college student working at part-time jobs. I didn’t have very much money, but I traveled cheaply and spent all that I had in my savings with absolutely no regrets (not that I’m saying you should blow your savings).
At my age, now is the best time to travel, before I have only two weeks vacation, before I have a family. But even once those things happen, I sincerely hope that the traveling never ends. Honestly, it’s my life’s mission to partake in as many adventures as I can, because I think that experiencing new places, cultures, and peoples adds so much to your life. I hope to live life in ways that can make this travel possible.
You know, my parents went to Hawaii twice before having kids. They said they’d go every five years together. Well, that hasn’t happened since I was born 21.5 years ago. I’m not judging them by any means, they’ve had kids and things to take care of. They’re certainly not the only people who have done this. Their generation also valued things like a nice house and nice cars over travel. My generation on the other hand, very much values travel.
So go out. Go see the world. Do it now. Any time you have an opportunity, go, even if it’s not somewhere that you’ve thought about going before. If the opportunity arises, take it because you may never have that opportunity in your life again.
In an upcoming blog post, I’ll be writing about why you should stay in hostels instead of a hotel. With regards to this post, they help you travel cheaply, but in that post, I will also be writing about the many other reasons why staying in hostels is better than staying in a hotel. Keep an eye out, and happy travels!
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