Learning through travel

I am of the opinion that everyone should travel, you don’t have to upheave your entire life like I have recently done, but at the very least I feel you should leave your own country. The things that can be learned from other cultures and their ways of living can only change you for the better, expose yourself to new experiences and most of all keep an open mind.

We never stop learning, it has been proven that even if as we grow older our minds slow, they never fully stop taking in new information. Education is great, academia expands the mind and learning new skills and information will in my opinion make you an all-round better person. Education graces us with the opportunity to make our own choices. It allows us the freedom to make our own decisions based on the information that we have. I have found that any decisions I have made have never come out worse because I had more information.

With all those positives it’s quite hard for me to see why anyone wouldn’t want to learn new things, and what better way to learn than by doing. Travel allows us to learn from multiple sources and by immersing ourselves in a lifestyle that may be very different to our own. I have nothing against people who do not leave their own country, there are many factors that may stop a person from leaving, but I do feel a great sadness for those who by their own choosing have decided to never see how the rest of the world lives.

There are so many different cultures and ways of living, so many unique and interesting perspectives in the world that to never see or experience any other than your own seems like such a waste to me. Not every culture I have seen has been pleasant for me, some beliefs are scary and strange and I find some ways of living to be ugly and harmful to many people, BUT I believe I have learnt something new from every single one that I have witnessed so far. I have taken something away with me that I didn’t have before and I have a better understanding of the world as I have learnt something more about it.

Taking those lessons learnt from multiple cultures and almost making a pick and mix mash-up of some of my favourite ways of living has improved my life in so many ways. I think that we can all learn from each other and to believe that only your way of living or your way of life is the best or the only way to do things; is small minded. There are many ways to get to the same result, it’s about finding the life that you want to lead and living it. I personally recommend travel and experience as the greatest way to expand your horizons.