Solo Travel is Great for a Gap Year

Thanks, I traveled over south america, and I think that world travel really is the ultimate mind broadening experience.

I’m a big believer in travel before college. Not only is this a huge chance for independence and responsibility at a young age, it can shapen young peoples ideas of what they want to achieve in the future and the direction of life to take. My own experiences of volunteering and traveling the world at 18 years old were incredibly scary at times but they helped me learn so much in the process; to address my priorities, respect different cultures and focus on what I wanted to achieve in life, even to the point of changing the college course and career I had in mind. A step which I now so grateful for. I think the key is a contructive, thoroughly researched and well planned time out. A great gap year is combining travel with working and interacting with different people. This way a gap year is not only a fun experience but also a worthwhile learning curve to a world of possibilities ahead.

I agree with jesse .Travel teaches a lot about the word . C’mon like we talk about world peace and things like that but man !!has any one seen it for real ? Travel is amazing boon .

I agree that travel offers enourmous opportunities for growth and learning, and am an avid traveller myself. I think that travel is not just about seeing new places, it’s about giving yourself the space and time to grow and learn about yourself and others, without the distraction of a 9-5 job, a mortgage, paying bills etc etc…

However, there are dangers in sending kids out into the world, and I don’t mean personal safety. Young minds are easily influenced, and generally not yet strong and evolved enough to resist temptations. I have seen many many kids get hard into drink and drugs whilst travelling, and many abandon plans to go onto university in favour of partying in a new destination. This is the very real and down side of young people going travelling.
I am speaking from what I have seen with my own eyes, however, I am sure many young people do get a lot out of their travels. My concern is simply that they may mess things up for their futures if they are not careful.

My personal advice would be encourage young people to finish their education first, whatever that may be, and then work for a while. Then when they go off travelling, they have a much stronger sense of self, as well as an appreciation of the money they have earned, and therefore they don’t want to waste it, or their precious time off.