Why you should travel young (Final pt1)

"We are what we repeatedly do," said the great philosopher, Aristotle, who is presumably a reliable source when it comes to evaluating one’s life decisions. So why is it that so many of us choose to ignore the value of the statement? We continue to sit at home and think, “Well, that’s nice. But I could never do that.” We focus on all of the reasons why we shouldn’t venture out. If we are what we repeatedly do, shouldn’t we enjoy what we’re doing right now?

I wonder what my life would be like if I never left my hometown. To stay in my own bleak little bubble of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. If I were only to see the same people every day, take the same roads to and from the same places, never experiencing anything different than the norm, I think I would have lost it by now. While I don’t take for granted the comfort of having a stable home and community to live in, I have tasted just enough culture to know that there is so much more to be feasted on.  

“While you’re still young, get cultured. Get to know the world and the magnificent people that fill it. The world is a stunning place, full of outstanding works of art. See it,” remarked Jeff Goins, in an article he wrote about his passion for traveling.  

Goins is a noted blogger, speaker, author, and the Communications Director of Adventures in Missions, (an international nonprofit organization.) Over the years, he has continued to write about his adventures, and eventually wrote an article on how traveling at a young age changed his life for the better.

If we are what we repeatedly do, I should hope that we all aspire to constantly be repeating actions that make us happy. People my age tend to have a stronger urge to hit the ground running, to explore, and leave responsibility behind us. But it’s what makes us happy. I hear many older individuals complain about how they never got around to traveling. My question is why? Why didn’t they see the world, if that’s what they truly wanted? If there was no opportunity in sight, why did they not simply make their own?

The truth is, traveling while you’re young is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Sure, there are excuses not to go, there always will be. But then think of how many more there will be once you age another fifteen years or so. Teenagers become adults, students become full time employees, singles are married, and couples become parents. Travel? Ain’t nobody got time for that.