Take the opportunity to see the world and get a degree too.

A whopping 98 percent of students surveyed said that taking a gap year had helped them develop as a person, and 97 percent believed travel had increased their maturity. According to American Gap Association, traveling at any age will broaden your experiences and give you life-long skills, but the earlier you travel, the sooner you’ll learn those valuable lessons that can help transform your perspective on life and shape it for the future. Although there are many things a student should keep in mind while traveling abroad, the benefits of taking a trip of a lifetime are abundant.
Learn to manage money
When you’re about to embark on a foreign adventure, organizing your finances before you set off is essential so you don’t run out of cash while you’re on the road! Traveling for any length of time teaches you how to manage your finances rather than spending dollars recklessly and getting stuck without a cent in your pocket. If you required financial assistance during college, make informed decisions and be wise about your options when it comes to student loan consolidation, repayments or student loan refinance so you can budget accordingly while you’re traveling.
Enrich your career
Getting out of your comfort zone and embracing new experiences will bring about challenges that are likely to build your confidence to adapt better to unforeseen challenges. When you’re faced with the obstacles of traveling in unknown territories, it will go a long way to developing skills in negotiation, language and cultural differences. These skills can later come into play whereby any career will benefit from your travels when it comes to communication, problem solving and thinking creatively.
Give you freedom
With so many discounts and deals exclusively available to students, traveling gives you the freedom and independence to take advantage of these offers while you’re young. When you’re older, not only is it likely to be more expensive, but you’ll probably have more commitments such as a mortgage or having a family. In contrast, hitting the open road as a student means you’ll have less things in life to hold you back and are free to embrace life-changing experiences on your adventure.
Planning to take your gap year and travel the world will teach you more than any textbook and is a much more fun way to learn about history, geography and the world’s cultures which you’re likely to carry with you for the rest of your life. Don’t forget to take lots of pictures, keep yourself and your stuff safe, and have the time of your life. When you get back consider adding the experience into your resume. After all, you never know what special connection might get you that perfect job.
SUPPORT
The only way I can continue my travels and publishing this blog is by generous contributions from readers. If you can, please subscribe for just $5 per month:NEWSLETTER
About the Author: Other Voices
Other Voices has written 1264 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.