Heading off on an adventure is about so much more than seeing new places and experiencing new cultures - it's a journey, on which you will countless things about yourself and the world around you.
1. Humankind is actually pretty awesome
If an alien race came down to Earth and watched even ten minutes of a news program they would have a pretty dismal view of us humans. It's easy to get so caught up in a bleak view of human nature, that you forget how amazing the human race, in general, is. When you're travelling, particularly if you're going it alone, this is something which you're quick to realise. While I'm not saying that you don't have to be careful, I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been helped out by the extreme generosity of people who were kind enough to offer their time, knowledge and sometimes even money to come to the assistance of some Australian traveller whom they'd never before met.
2. We are really all one in the same
While you may be travelling to some far, exotic corner of the globe and arrive ready to witness an extremely foreign culture, what will actually jump out to you is that, despite surface differences, we really are all one in the same: with many of the same hopes, fears and loves. Whether it was my Japanese taxi driver proudly gushing as he showed us photos of his newly married daughter, or my South Korean friend make the same complaints as my student friends back home; you'll soon forgot the notion of 'nationhood' and realise the importance of 'humankind'.
3. You're more resilient than you think
At times, travelling can be one big test after another. Yes, flights will be delayed, luggage can get lost, reservations sometimes fall through and you won't always know what it is that you're doing or where you're going. But you'll overcome each of these hurdles, and return home with a newfound confidence in yourself.
4. Some things aren't as important as you think they are
Sometimes separating yourself from your day-to-day life is what you need to gain some perspective. I've once had someone told me that travelling is running away from your problems, but I kindly beg to differ. When you're removed from situation at hand, you're able to look at it from a new perspective, and may realise that some of the 'huge issues' back home are not so insurmountable as they once appeared.
1. Humankind is actually pretty awesome
If an alien race came down to Earth and watched even ten minutes of a news program they would have a pretty dismal view of us humans. It's easy to get so caught up in a bleak view of human nature, that you forget how amazing the human race, in general, is. When you're travelling, particularly if you're going it alone, this is something which you're quick to realise. While I'm not saying that you don't have to be careful, I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been helped out by the extreme generosity of people who were kind enough to offer their time, knowledge and sometimes even money to come to the assistance of some Australian traveller whom they'd never before met.
2. We are really all one in the same
While you may be travelling to some far, exotic corner of the globe and arrive ready to witness an extremely foreign culture, what will actually jump out to you is that, despite surface differences, we really are all one in the same: with many of the same hopes, fears and loves. Whether it was my Japanese taxi driver proudly gushing as he showed us photos of his newly married daughter, or my South Korean friend make the same complaints as my student friends back home; you'll soon forgot the notion of 'nationhood' and realise the importance of 'humankind'.
3. You're more resilient than you think
At times, travelling can be one big test after another. Yes, flights will be delayed, luggage can get lost, reservations sometimes fall through and you won't always know what it is that you're doing or where you're going. But you'll overcome each of these hurdles, and return home with a newfound confidence in yourself.
4. Some things aren't as important as you think they are
Sometimes separating yourself from your day-to-day life is what you need to gain some perspective. I've once had someone told me that travelling is running away from your problems, but I kindly beg to differ. When you're removed from situation at hand, you're able to look at it from a new perspective, and may realise that some of the 'huge issues' back home are not so insurmountable as they once appeared.