Like many other people in my age group, I have a desire to travel.

Young people are curious and we want the chance to see parts of the world for ourselves firsthand. I want to be able to say B次元官网网址淚 was there,B次元官网网址� feel the emotions that accompany being there and take things in through my own eyes rather than the lens of someone elseB次元官网网址檚 camera.

There are programs, such as Lattitude (lattitudecanada.org), that come to our schools and encourage us to take the opportunity to work and go to school abroad. They promote travelling as something all people have the privilege of doing.

It ties us to life experience, relationships and discoveries we wouldB次元官网网址檝e otherwise been left without. Leaving home to spend time in places previously unknown to you promotes self-growth in people who do so.

Travelling out in the world while weB次元官网网址檙e still able to is a dream of people both juvenile and mature. It helps us embrace new cultures and become more open to learning things outside of the lives weB次元官网网址檝e been sheltered in.

A 2013 online travel tips article (worldofwanderlust.com) entitled B次元官网网址淲hy You Should Travel The World In Your 20B次元官网网址檚,B次元官网网址� states that B次元官网网址渢he world we live in today is much different to the world our grandparents lived inB次元官网网址� and that globalization and the connections between people in different parts of the world are doing nothing but increasing.

Youth today are evidently more accepting and curious: some use social media and the Internet to speak to people across the world, while some choose to attend schools in different countries. This affects them and the students they meet during their stay.

Something we rarely take into consideration is that in your youth, you lack the pressing responsibilities that may begin to tie you down, such as children, a mortgage or a new career. This appeals to the need to be independent and adds emphasis that flying away to another part of the globe is something I want to do.

In Candice Gaukel AndrewB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭en Reasons Why Adventure Travel Is Good For You,B次元官网网址� she explains how travel can benefit people in more ways than imaginable, like B次元官网网址渞aising your tolerance for uncertaintyB次元官网网址� by being forced into situations where the outcome is completely unknown. These kinds of experiences can promote coping and decision-making skills. Andrew adds that trekking to other places can improve a B次元官网网址渨ide variety of health problemsB次元官网网址� and helps fight physical and mental issues that may be waging within an individual.

Having spent nine hours on a plane, landed on another continent and seen things IB次元官网网址檇 never seen before, what I valued most was that it took my mind off my stressors. It was like they didnB次元官网网址檛 exist there, and I felt infinitely better than how IB次元官网网址檇 felt at home, where I was forced into routine.

Throughout my life I will reflect on time spent outside of my comfort zone: long flights, unusual weather, new food and walks that were so long they caused blisters. In other words, the negatives and positives.

IB次元官网网址檝e seen Stonehenge up close and taken in how impressive it is, the massive rocks that will seemingly stay standing there forever. But IB次元官网网址檝e also been on the tubes in the underground of London, squished between the hurried, grumpy people trying to get to wherever their destinations may be.

Experiences like this will write chapters in the book that is you and shape who you are by the end of your life.

In school, you will be presented with several options for what to do after graduation. The paths continuously suggested are post-secondary, work and travel. Some choose the first two without realizing the missed opportunities of the third. We are told stories from our peers and hear about their adventures, how at times they were terrified and how other times were the best moments of their lives.

They see old friends or family again after years apart, taking their first steps on the soil of the country they arrive in. We hear about festivals or gatherings that donB次元官网网址檛 happen at home, or simply about the feeling that theyB次元官网网址檙e there and they made it in one piece after that long plane ride over the vast oceans.

I have yet to leave what we know to explore the things I donB次元官网网址檛. Although IB次元官网网址檓 nearing and coming dangerously close to the freedom that will allow me to head in any direction, travelling is something that needs to be incorporated in my life, between semesters at university or on the vacation time I will get from my future job.

I hope to one day find myself winding through the streets of Thailand in the warm climate, riding through the plains in Africa and seeing all the animals IB次元官网网址檇 only seen in photos, and maybe even connecting with my own heritage in northern Europe.

There are some things provided by visiting foreign places that nothing else can.

Alexis Miller is a Belmont secondary student in Lauren FrodshamB次元官网网址檚 Writing 11 class.