Traveling alone can be terribly lonely. That’s why it will help you being more open-minded and appreciate the company of others. It will make you learn that the person sitting alone in a place might just be hoping someone comes over and says hello. And it will make you learn to trust yourself, to be confident, and to simply go over and talk to a stranger. Traveling helps you find friends for life and it helps you find the person you want to be.

Pelion, Greece 2016

Traveling exposes you to people and lifestyles that are completely different than anything you’ve probably encountered back at home. Before you know it, you’ll be picking up on local customs and falling in love with food you can barely even pronounce. Regardless of skin color, geographical location, or language, you will realize that everyone in the world strives for the same things. We all want to be safe, we all want to be successful, we all want to live lives that we can look back on and be proud of. Once you travel, you realize that the entire globe is all striving towards the same goal: happiness.

Luxor, Egypt 2015

Traveling will make you realize that you are capable of far more than you ever could have imagined. Whether if it’s standing up for yourself in a foreign language, making friends with complete strangers, dealing with unruly crowds, or even efficiently planning a vacation, traveling can be like finishing a marathon. It forces you to step out of your comfort zone. That, you can transfer to daily life. Now, no matter what’s thrown at you, you know you’re capable of rising to the challenge and, most importantly, accomplishing it.

Mount Bromo, Java, Indonesia 2013

Traveling will make you realize that money doesn’t buy happiness. It will teach you to live in the moment by being in constant awe of your surroundings. When you are in a new place, you tend to pay attention to the smells, the scenery and noises around you more than you would at home. You will experience meeting new people and seeing new places in a whole different way. Traveling will make you value those things and you will slowly realize that they are more important than anything you could ever buy.

Laguna Beach, California 2015

All of us spend a huge amount of time thinking about what will come in the future. Travelling, however, makes us all stop and just enjoy the moment. Waking up in a new, unexplored country incites excitement, making it nearly impossible to worry about the future or obsess about the past. The difference between experiencing every second of your life instead of dwelling on things out of your control is palpable and it’s a lesson that’s one of the most important to take back home.

Bali, Indonesia 2013