21 Reasons To Travel When You're 21

Travel is something that I obviously have a passion for. Living in Germany for the past (almost) year has been the best experience of my life no doubt about it. That’s why I recommend that every single person who’s about to graduate from university or going to graduate soon spend some time abroad before settling down. Here’s why:

1. The first reason is food. ALL THE FOOD. When you travel, you'll get to try so much food from your new home or your next destinations.

2. Nothing else in the world, but spending time abroad can teach you so much about yourself. You'll learn things about who you really are that you would never have found out by staying at home.

3. Traveling pushes you out of your comfort zone - every. single. day. And after all, life begins at the end of your comfort zone!

4. The friends you make when you spend time abroad are there for life. These are the people who are going to be the best friends you ever make .

5. When you live abroad, you'll start to realize what the most important things in life are. Like tacos!

6. JK, tacos are great and all, but living abroad gives you the opportunity to single out on those things in life that aren't replaceable. There are certain things that you always fall back on, no matter what's happening around you. For me, those things are my personal health, family, and my close relationships.

7. Remember those friends, I mentioned? Yeah, you're going to have so many of the best laughs with them when you're abroad. From those little cultural differences to getting wasted on the streets of a new city, those laughs are going to be timeless.

8. Your Instagram is never going to look better - seriously.

9. Traveling is the time where you can experience the randomness of life. Whether it be the chance meeting of an old friend in Amsterdam or having the longest conversation about life with a stranger in your hostel in Thailand, traveling is incredibly random and that's the best part about it.

10. When you travel young, you can see the wonders of the world . Who knows if you'll ever have the freedom to travel so much in the future?

11. Speaking of freedom, when you spend time abroad, you don't have to hop right from the graduation stage to your career . Take some time off, live life a little bit, and you might even find a new calling than the one you majored in.

12. Remember that ramen diet from university? Those drunk midnight runs to Cookout (the best Southern fast food)? Well, recent graduates seriously know how to run on a budget. At this age, we're still willing to sleep in shitty hostels, eat the worst diet, and still have the time of our lives.

13. You're not weighed down with responsibility yet. When you graduate, all you've got to deal with is Me, Myself, and I - AKA your parents still shell out for a lot of your expenses. So, take advantage of mom and dad (kidding, but kind of not) and spend some time seeing the world!

14. Cultural understanding is one of the most important skills you can have today. Chances are that when you're done traveling, you'll start on your career. And that career's going to be global, no doubt about it. When you travel now when you're young, you'll get the chance to meet people from around the world and learn about their backgrounds.

15. You can literally make money in so many ways. You can house sit for someone in Hamburg, you can freelance write from Dubai, you can offer your design skills to companies in Shanghai. The world is literally our oyster, so take advantage of it.

16. You might think that you’re done with all of those changes you experienced in university. Lordy (as James Comey would say), you’re in for a rude awakening. I can’t even imagine what I was like a year or so ago. When you live abroad , you change so much more than you even did in university. In all of the good ways!

17. Your perspective changes forever when you spent time abroad. People in other countries see the world through a different lens. When you live or travel abroad, you can borrow that lens for a while and see how your perspective changes.

18. There are so many budget airlines to choose from, so you have no excuse not to hop over to another country for a weekend trip. Fancy AF.

19. There’s just something about sitting in a cafe and people-watching in another country. The little things that you notice while sipping your cappuccino will stay with you.

20. You’ll learn how traveling isn’t all fun and games. Yeah, there are going to be sad and frustrating times when you spend time abroad   no doubt about it. However, life isn’t about avoiding getting hurt, it’s about learning from your scars. Those scars you get from traveling will stay with you forever.

21. There’s just nothing else like it in the world.