College may be a time when we study hard and weigh our resumes down with as many extracurricular activities as possible, but it should also be a time where we think about using these four years to explore! Here are a few reasons why college is the ideal time to adventure!
1. You have fewer commitments holding you down.
Sure, you might have to skip class, or get someone to cover for you at work if you want to leave town for a weekend, but for the most of us, this will be the freest and least attached we will be for a long time. We don’t have families of our own, spouses, or mortgages. We aren’t too tired after a work week to do anything fun. If you can make the time to go out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, you definitely have the energy to travel!
2. You don’t have to go far.
Sometimes we think of travel as jet setting to exotic locations for the weekend, but travel is really just walking out your front door and finding an adventure. If you live near mountains, get some friends together to go hiking or skiing. If you live near the water, find a beach that you’ve never explored! If you live near a city, try a new restaurant, or splurge and go see a play or concert. Google “student discounts” in your city and find out the deals that are waiting for you!
3. Travel can be cheaper than you think.
The benefit of being a college student is that most of your friends always have a place to welcome visitors! Trade hosting a weekend at your school with visiting a friend at his/her school. I found a cheap flight to Dallas early this semester, and spent a blissful weekend soaking up the sun with my friends from Texas. It got me away from the Boston snow, and I hardly spent any money because I had a place to stay and transportation waiting for me. We ate cheap, and besides my flight, I spent less than $75 for the whole weekend. A lot of transportation, museums, attractions, and even bars have student discounts. It takes research, but it’s definitely worth it. Look for good deals at Student Universe, Students Rate and Groupon!
4. You’re young!
When you get older, you may not want to travel as cheap. When you are forty and have a good job or a family, you may not want to take the cheap red-eye flights or transfer trains three times. You might not want to stay at a hostel, or on a friend’s air mattress. You might not want to bring granola bars in your backpack so you can skip breakfast and head out exploring earlier. And it will be harder to be flexible with plans. When you travel in college, your experience is different, but definitely not inferior. Seeing the world through your eyes at twenty will be very different than any other part of your life. Your views about the world and the people in it are being shaped now, so open your eyes and your mind to new ideas.
5. You can travel like a local.
When you are visiting friends, or traveling on the uber cheap, you undoubtedly gravitate towards living like the locals. Instead of eating at the fancy restaurants, you are eating at the diner where the regulars hang out. This is a really authentic way to see a place. Sure, Times Square is great, but what’s also great is the tiny café downtown that you only step in because it’s pouring rain. Be a traveler, not a tourist.
The next time your friends are looking for an adventure, go! You will learn a lot in four years sitting in a classroom, but you will learn even more when you try and understand an unfamiliar place. Make these years count, and say yes when opportunities come your way. Happy travels!
Photos: pinterest.com