5 Things I Have Learned as a Teen Traveler

Written by KAITLIN MURRAY

Worldschooling has changed my life.

I am a completely different person than I was before and I have learned so many things that I never would have learned in a regular classroom. Travel has given me the chance to see the world and learn about so many cultures, beliefs, and traditions. The world has been my classroom and all the people we meet along the way are our teachers – showing us so many different perspectives and giving us real-life experiences.

Here are 5 things I have learned as a teen traveler: 

Curiosity

Once I started traveling, I realized that there is so much more out there than I ever imagined. There are so many cultures, beliefs, religions, and languages! As I slowly began to learn more and meet more people, I realized that I wanted to learn more and discover the perspectives and opinions of other cultures. I am so grateful for travel and how it has shown me how to be curious and opened me up to the rest of the world.  

Open-Mindedness

When we travel to far-off lands, meet new people and see things we never could have imagined. We realize the world has so much to teach us!  We become open-minded and see that there are many cultures and people with different perspectives and traditions than us and we get to learn from them and see the world on a larger scale.  I have learned so many things about different cultures that I never would have known if I lived in one place. 

Risk Taking

When you travel, you are forced to take risks and try new things.  Every time I go into a new place, I am thrown into a new environment where they speak a language I don’t know, eat food I have never tried, and have traditions and customs I have never heard of. And I love it! It has taught me to take chances in life and live for the moment. Travel has pushed me to do so many things that I now love doing! All it takes between the present and what you want to achieve is taking a risk, and travel has taught me exactly that. 

Gratitude

Travel has taught me to be grateful for the things I have in my life that I never fully appreciated before. After traveling to places like Cambodia and Egypt, I realized how lucky we actually are – I met people who were sleeping on the streets or who had lost their family in war. I saw people who were living in shacks with no water, kids who had to leave school to beg for money, and others who never had the chance to go to school at all.  All of a sudden, I realized how much I truly used to take for granted and  saw how lucky I was to at least have a hotel room to go back to, a plane ticket to go somewhere new, and a family that is always there for me. I now understand that we should always be grateful for the beautiful lives we have and never forget it. 

Compassion

As we travel, we meet many people who live very hard lives and have been affected by poverty, war, or hardship. As I met all these different people and  connected with them on a human level, I became so much more compassionate. I started to care about something greater than myself and how I could help people in need in the world. Before, I never understood how other people were living since I never could relate to them. But now I have personally met people who are living in poverty or war and have seen how they are normal people just like us. Travel lets us see the reality of the rest of the world and shows us that with compassion, each one of us can make a difference. 

 Have you ever been on a “life-learning” trip? How did it change you? Please share your story with us!

About the Author:

My name is Kaitlin and I love to travel, write, and volunteer. I am 16 years old and have been traveling my entire life with my family. I was born in Amsterdam and also lived in Los Angeles, Dusseldorf, Paris, and Rome all by the time I was seven. For the next 7 years, I lived in Venice, Italy – yet in September 2013, my family went back on the road for an open-ended journey to see the world. So far we have visited 36 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. My greatest joy is meeting and helping others as we travel and sharing their stories through my writing – opening hearts and minds to the realities and amazing people of the world. Join me on my journey at TravelinKait.com