After spring finals of my freshman year of college, I moved back home and landed a summer job at The Fresh Market. The very next day I recieved a call with an offer to nanny in France for six weeks. Without hesitation I said yes. I mean who wouldn’t? It’s like getting an offer to be a real life sisterhood of the traveling pants.
I got the call on a Saturday and the following Wednesday I was sitting on a plane testing out every possible position in my little square seat to fall asleep. I had a layover in Holland where I sat for hours getting the full experience of culture shock. What the heck had I gotten myself into? My head was spinning because I had failed to let it sink in before I left the United States that I was flying halfway around the world by myself to go live with a family I had never met before in a country I hardly knew. All I really knew was they spoke French, the Eiffel tower was there, and they gifted us the beloved Statue of Libery. While I was there, I took a week off to travel and once again accused myself of being an idiot when I was sitting on the train heading to my first hostel in Paris.
Fast forward a year and a half later and I find myself sitting in the bathroom of a hostel in Norway crying and Facetiming my Dad. I had flown to Europe a month early to travel before starting my semester abroad in Belgium. I had finally gotten to my hostel after landing in the country, being lost for two hours in the dark, with no money in their currency, my debit card not working, all my electronics dead, no map and not being able to communicate with hardly anyone. Traveing can sometimes be challenging, but it’s those feelings of unknowingness and uncertainty that throw you into the best experiences and make traveling one of the most fulfilling things you can do in college.
You will meet some of the most funny, helpful, crazy, influential people you have ever met.
If I was struggling to carry a bag (more likely bags) I could almost count on someone asking me if I needed help in any country I was in. I’ve gotten myself lost more times than not while traveling, but no matter where I was or who I asked, people were so willing to stop what they were doing and give the poor helpless girl a little direction.
I’ve had serious conversations with people I hardly knew and saw new perspectives I would have never thought before. On the other side of the spectrum, I’ve found myself multiple times laughing hysterically and acting crazy all night with wild Australians, Canadians, British, Irish, and just about every other nationality I’ve encountered. I have met some of the greatest people I have ever met while traveling.
You learn life skills
Learning to use a map is no longer necessary with the availability of step by step talking GPS devices. When you don’t have the ability to use your phone abroad, you learn how to use a map pretty quickly. Granted I still get lost with a map in my hand, but I’m getting better. I like to think practice makes perfect, but more realistically I think it’s more of a directionally challenged problem.
When you’re sitting in a room at a hostel with people you have never met before and your only way to check social media is through the spotty wifi that goes out every two minutes, face to face conversations suddenly become exciting. We’re all so guily of sitting on our phones in social situations, but when you don’t even have the option to scroll down your newsfeed and you have to engage in real life conversations, it doesnt take long to notice how much more exciting it is.
When the travel bug bites, it’s hard to say no. This means it’s time to start saving and budgeting money. Since the desire to travel is so strong, it’s not hard to save money. You end up learning skills to save your money and make strict budgets while you’re traveling to make sure you save enough to eat everyday.
You have complete freedom
When you go to college, you experience an entire new level of freedom. It wasn’t until I was abroad, where I was literally the only person I knew on the continent, that I experienced true freedom. It occured to me that I could literally do whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I woke up whenever I wanted, went and saw whatever I wanted, drank whenever I wanted to, ate when I was hungry, talked to whoever I wanted, hung out with whoever I found interesting and fun, and did anything and everything I wanted to do. Granted I checked in with my parents daily, so they didn’t think their daughter would be appearing in the next Taken movie. But, I was free. I had nothing tying me down and nothing holding me back.
You gain strength and confidence
People have always said to me that I’m such a confident person for deciding to go and travel abroad by myself. But I honestly don’t believe that. It doesn’t take a stong person to walk through security at the airport, show customs your passport, and sit on a plane for a few hours. Anyone can do that. But, when you are thrown into a situation like I was in in Norway: alone, with no money, lost, with no way to contact anyone, that’s when you learn to be strong. And if you travel, it’s innevitable you will find yourself in a situation similar to it. You can’t call Daddy to come pick you up or plug in the directions to your maps app. You have two choices: sit and breakdown, or pull yourself together and figure it out.
It’s not easy, it’s extremely frustrating and draining. But then you get to where you need to be and realize you just wandered around for two hours until you finally found a grocery store cashier who spoke English, pulled up directions for you on his phone, helped you to the tram so you didn’t get lost. You eventually come to the realization that you are capable of so much more than you think you are, which gives you the confidence in youself and strength in life that everyone has but not everyone knows they do.
You get to see incredible things that you may not have a chance to again
The real world creeps up really quick and soon you won’t have the chance decide on a whim to go off to another country for weeks or months and do whatever you want. Do it while you can and see as much as you can. There are so many incredible places to see in this world and if you dont believe me, just scroll through Pinterest for five minutes.
Go see the world. Don’t let the pictures online be the end of your wanderlust. Go see it in person, I guarantee you it’s 100 times better. Don’t be afraid, the world isn’t as scary as the media lets us think. Don’t let money hold you back. I traveled through the United Kingdom and Scandanavia for a month (including airfare) for nearly $2,500. This is your time to see the world and I promise you won’t regret it once you go.