The Benefits of Traveling as a Teen

People often dream of traveling and exploring new and exciting places, writing down where they would like to go in bucket lists, journals, or just keeping mental note of where they find interesting. Some never get past this dreaming stage, instead choosing to always consider what it would have been like but to never actually do it. Others will explore only the tourist locations and never get to see the actuality of the places that they are visiting - yes, they’ve been there, but did they actually experience the culture and the people? Perhaps not. Then, of course, are the travelers - those who take the time to explore the places that most don’t choose to see, who truly want to learn about the people and the culture of their chosen destination, and who will end up getting much more out of the experience than most others simply for the fact that they take the time to consider what the local people and environment is, rather than what they want it to be. Thankfully for me, my dad is one such traveler. He is gone three to four months out of the year on business, and travels all over the world. I have been hearing his stories for years, scribbling exotic names of places into my mind and sketchbooks, and considering where I would like to go.

In the last five or so years, my dad has started to take my family with him on some of his trips. I have been to Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Austria, and Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia) in just the few times that I have gone with him, and I would not give these experiences up for the world. I feel that having been exposed to so many new cultures and ideas has taught me many things about both the world, and about myself, and that these experiences are invaluable to me. It is, to me at least, almost essential to allow your children, especially teenagers, to travel, as it helps to build up good foundations for learning and open-mindedness which they can carry with them for the rest of their lives, and exposes them to many new cultures and ideas that they previously never would have or likely never would.

Firstly, being exposed to different cultures has made me more open minded and able to consider ideas and practices that are different from my own, and how I may incorporate or discourage different ideas from my life. This is evident in my love of language and me working to learn Spanish and German, and hopefully one day French and Japanese. Almost everyone in Europe speaks at least some English alongside their native language, although most speak more than just two, often knowing up to five languages fluently. I know passable German (enough to get around, anyway), and find that this has allowed me to view my experiences in Germany and Austria in a whole different way - languages are, to me at least, the way that people view and communicate about their surroundings, their ideas, and the world. Being able to view these people and places in both the frame of being a native English speaker and a second language learner of German has provided me with a much richer and more fulfilling experience. I find that this has given me a different outlook on meeting new people and seeing new places, and has encouraged me to be more open and friendly as well as more understanding to things that I may not entirely understand or practice myself.

Secondly, being able to travel and experience these different cultures and ideas as a teenager allows for the freedom and excitement of travel while still being protected by a parent or guardian to ensure that everything remains under control and safe. While most people in the world are friendly, kind, and willing to try and understand one another, there is always the odd one out who may have malicious intentions. Traveling as a teenager, especially traveling with family, ensures that the likelihood of anything bad happening. This is true for traveling in a group as well - no matter who you are or where you come from, it is always better to travel in a group rather than alone, simply given safety in numbers. Being able to have fun and exciting experiences while under the protection of a parent, guardian, or group is essential for young travelers to ensure safety and security.

Finally, traveling can do wonders for mental health and personal well being, as being able to get away or “escape” from our “normal” can be a much needed change in the lives of many young people. Personally, I find that traveling is a fantastic way to detach from any negativity that I may feel at home, and instead to focus on exploring and having a good time. Traveling necessitates a good understanding of yourself before you can experience other people and cultures, and thus may be very therapeutic for some. One of my cousins had struggled with a variety of mental illnesses, went in and out of institutions, and came close to committing suicide more than a few times. As soon as she was eighteen, she left Nevada and began to travel, starting with moving all over the U.S. and then progressing to international travel. Currently, she is in India doing a two week silent meditation retreat - which she is helping run. She has come so far and is doing so much better, and all it took was a little bit of money and a whole lot of traveling for her to start to find herself. I hope that everyone will be able to see this kind of change in themselves through traveling, and that everyone gets a chance to have these types of experiences. Having the ability to experience new people, new cultures, and new ideas at an early age certainly helps to set the stage for a lifelong love of travel and an open-minded outlook on life that cannot be achieved through anything else. After all, not all those who wander are lost, and not all those who are lost wish to be found.