8 Reasons To Travel This Year

If you’ve already traveled a bit this year…great! Why stop now! If you’ve not yet gone but thought about traveling, had travel plans fall through, or simply made a vision board filled with exotic locations, that’s great too…and what better time than now to manifest those thoughts and physically hit the road! Lack of time. Lack of money. Aviophobia. Unwilling to travel alone. Nervous…

Whatever your apprehension may be, allow this list to derail your objections and provide that final push to pursue your yearn to travel. Why just 8 reasons? Why not more than 8? Honestly, there are an infinite number of reasons that highlight the benefits of travel and, with 8 being the symbol for infinity, this list is not an end… but only the beginning.

8. It’s something to look forward to.

A getaway is just that…a chance to get away from the stress and strain of everyday life. Simply knowing you’ll be able to unwind is reason enough to get excited. Don’t get caught up in all the flash and fanfare of big locations either, there’s beauty to be found in even the most unassuming places.

7. You will meet amazing new people.

I’m not saying that everyone you encounter will automatically turn into your new bff’s, because we all come across the occasional <insert expletive of your choice here>...but you’ll definitely meet some genuinely good people. In today’s world, staying connected and remaining lifelong friends is easier than ever.

6. Seek and ye shall find…

…an affordable travel deal! You don’t have to plan an expensive trip around the world to get excited. Whether daily visits to sites like travelpirates.com, secretflying.com, or catching deals posted on the walls of facebook travel groups like iluv2globetrot…there are always ways to travel on a budget.

5. Make some epic memories!

Whether alone or in a group, once you stand out over the horizon in reflection of a grand journey… you will never be the same.

4. Begin (or continue) the greatest story ever told.

It’s been said that “of all the books in the world, the greatest stories are often found between the pages of a passport.” Let your passport be the pen and your travels be the ink that glides across the pages of life.

3. You will be motivated to travel more.

Hi, my name is _____ and I’m a alco travelholic. Ok, you might not reach this level of addiction from just one trip, but that one trip could be the domino that triggers your nomadic desires.

2. Replace generalizations with general truths.

In this age of social media, information is literally right at our fingertips. Ironically, this doesn’t prevent stereotypes and generalizations from happening. When you experience a culture or country firsthand it closes the doors of these preconceptions…whether by shopping at the town market, seeing the innocent smiles of the local children, or tasting the love put into cuisine indigenous to the area — whatever the case may be, there’s nothing quite like changing misconceptions or experiencing a language barrier transcended by kindness.

1. Life is too short to wait.

I hate to end with such a cliché, but this one is true. You don’t have to quit your job and become a nomad in order to travel every now and then — but in between life, it’s important to remember to live. I watched my mother put off international travel until my father’s retirement, only to meet her untimely death just a few months thereafter. Although she never physically reached the destinations she dreamed of, she has walked with me through every new location I have and will continue to venture to.