When I was fourteen in 2011, I was given the chance to travel to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales with People to People Student Ambassador Program. I was ecstatic because I was finally given the chance to visit one of my favorite cities, London. I accepted and that summer, I was whisked off to new cultures. I left as a young girl and returned as a young woman. The experiences I witnessed changed me and left me with a hunger for knowledge and traveling. Three years later in 2014, I was asked to return for another trip. I was about to enter my senior year of high school and was wary if I should return because I needed to focus on school. I accepted however, and on this next trip, I met my best friend. These travels changed me in ways I can’t even really describe. During the travels, you don’t notice that you are changing. It is only when you return home that you realize you’re different. When you casually mention to your friends of your travels, they look at you differently. When you travel, you develop traits others don’t have.
You gain a deeper understanding of the world around you. By visiting these fabulous places, you gain more knowledge about them. So in your classes when you cover topics like World War 2, you have a greater understanding of what happened and you can put your own story with theirs. It will actually help you remember facts and data more when you can connect to the story. For example, the Black Forest in Germany is known as the forest where ‘if you go in, you never come out’. Well, on the edge of one side of the forest, is a little cuckoo clock factory. I had completed a community service project where we had to get rid of several weeds in the forest. Once we were leaving, we were told what the name of the forest was. We were shocked and amazed of where we had just come from – and that we made it out alive.
You also gain the responsibility of being on your own. There is no better teacher than to actually be thrown out into the world. When you are on your own, you actually have to remember to eat regularly, get plenty of sleep, take your medicine, and do your normal routine. You aren’t going to have someone standing behind you, reminding you to do all of the things you have to do. You have to do your laundry or you won’t have any clothes. You have to take care of yourself. It is a very surreal reality when you realize that you are alone, when you are normally with someone else. You learn to keep yourself going on your own. The only real way to learn this is to be on your own.
Traveling abroad also gives you the opportunity to find out who you are and teaches you more about yourself. Myself, for example. I am tired of hearing that my name is spelled wrong. It’s spelled with an O. Sommer. For a number of years, I hated my name because it was spelled differently, and tried to change it many times with nicknames and the like. My entire life, people have spelled my name wrong or pronounced it wrong. It only took me 17 years and a trip overseas to Germany to finally be able to embrace my name. Sommer is German for summer. Everywhere I went in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, I saw my name (since I went during the summer). My host family commented to me that they were surprised when they discovered that my name was German. I finally felt acceptance of who I was, and it only took a trip around the world to find myself!
You gain friends from all over the globe. The ability to have contacts everywhere is an amazing gift to have. If I ever travel somewhere and need a place to stay, I know of friends nearby, hotels and hostels nearby, and the best places to eat! I have friends in Germany, England, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, India, South Korea, France, and a few others. I still keep in contact with them and know that if I ever need to leave for any reason, I am always welcome there.
You have expertise of various cities. Who else knows the best places to eat or the routes that have the least traffic? You can remember exactly how to get back to the bus, while you walk down winding back roads of little towns. If you return to these cities, you instantly think back to the time you were there, and think of where to go, eat, or stay. If I ever return to Pitlochrey, Scotland, I know there’s a hostel on the hill that overlooks the entire town and that they have the best food. If I return to Montafon, Austria, I know that right past the hotel up the main road and off on a little side road, there’s an amazing little Italian restaurant. And if I feel adventurous, I can take the trail through the woods that lead past a little pub and straight to the hotel. These little facts are great things to have.
Traveling changes you. I would not be the person I am today without the experiences I have gone through. I highly recommend traveling, whether it is to another state or another country. These experiences give you the ability to understand more than what your friends and family know. They can only assume what Paris or London looks like, while you know exactly what it feels like to be there. These opportunities are once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you should take, if you are given the chance.