You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

One of the strangest things about growing up is realizing how much of your understanding of the world comes from the people around you.

Your parents taught you certain things.

Your friends taught you certain things.

Your school taught you certain things.

Your hometown taught you certain things.

Your community taught you certain things.

And because those ideas are familiar, they can start to feel like the way things simply are.

Then you leave.

You go somewhere you’ve never been.

You meet someone who grew up on the other side of the country.

Or the other side of the world.

They have different ideas about family, work, money, education, relationships, success, politics, religion, food, recreation and what makes a good life.

Suddenly, something you thought was obvious becomes a question.

And that’s one of the most valuable things that can happen to you when you’re young.

You start realizing that there is more than one way to live.

Travel Is More Than Seeing New Places

Travel is often described as a way to see the world.

That’s true.

But seeing the world isn’t necessarily what changes you.

People do.

You can take pictures of incredible landscapes and come home with a camera roll full of memories.

Or you can sit down with someone you’ve never met and have a conversation that makes you reconsider something you’ve believed your entire life.

That experience stays with you.

Travel puts you in situations where you’re surrounded by people who don’t necessarily share your assumptions.

You have to ask questions.

You have to listen.

You have to explain yourself.

You have to figure out how to communicate.

You have to become comfortable not knowing.

Those are life skills.

And you don’t learn them very well by staying inside the same bubble.

Your Bubble Is Smaller Than You Think

Everyone has a bubble.

Your hometown is a bubble.

Your school is a bubble.

Your social media feed is a bubble.

Your friend group is a bubble.

Even your family can be a bubble.

None of this is inherently bad.

We need communities.

We need people who understand us.

We need places where we feel comfortable.

But if you only spend time around people who think like you, you can start confusing familiarity with truth.

The world is much bigger than your immediate surroundings.

There are people who grew up differently from you and still have happy lives.

People who prioritize completely different things.

People who define success differently.

People who have completely different ideas about education, careers and relationships.

People who would look at your version of a “normal” life and wonder why you would ever choose it.

Meeting them can be uncomfortable.

That’s exactly why it can be valuable.

You Don’t Have to Agree With Everyone

Learning from people who think differently doesn’t mean agreeing with them.

That’s an important distinction.

You don’t travel somewhere new and suddenly have to adopt every belief you encounter.

You don’t have to change your values every time someone has a different opinion.

You don’t even have to like everyone you meet.

The skill is learning how to understand someone without immediately trying to change them.

Why do they believe what they believe?

What experiences led them there?

What does their life look like?

What assumptions are they making?

What assumptions are you making?

What can you learn from their perspective?

And where do you still disagree?

That’s intellectual maturity.

It’s also incredibly useful in the real world.

Listening Is a Superpower

A lot of young people are taught how to speak.

Not nearly as many are taught how to listen.

Real listening is difficult.

It means putting your own response on hold.

It means being curious.

It means asking another question instead of immediately giving your opinion.

It means being willing to say, “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

Travel creates countless opportunities to practice this.

You meet someone at work.

You sit next to someone on a bus.

You share a room with someone.

You eat dinner with people you’ve never met.

You spend an afternoon hiking with someone who grew up somewhere completely different.

You talk.

You listen.

And slowly, you get better at understanding people.

That skill will serve you for the rest of your life.

You Learn That People Are More Complicated Than Their Labels

It’s easy to make assumptions about people when you’ve never actually met them.

It’s much harder after you have.

You might have an idea about what someone from a particular state is like.

Then you meet one.

You might have assumptions about someone from another country.

Then you live with one.

You might think someone with a different political opinion couldn’t possibly understand you.

Then you spend eight hours working alongside them.

You discover that people are rarely as simple as the categories we put them into.

They have families.

Fears.

Dreams.

Bad days.

Inside jokes.

Ambitions.

Contradictions.

Experiences you know nothing about.

Travel can teach you to see people as individuals instead of ideas.

That is a profound life skill.

You Become Better at Navigating Differences

Eventually, you’re going to work with people who are different from you.

Your boss might communicate differently.

Your coworker might have different priorities.

Your roommate might have completely different habits.

Your partner might see something differently than you do.

Your client might have expectations you don’t understand.

Your neighbor might live a life you would never choose for yourself.

You can’t control that.

You can control how you respond.

Travel gives you practice.

You learn that not every difference is a problem that needs to be solved.

Sometimes you just need to understand it.

Sometimes you compromise.

Sometimes you ask questions.

Sometimes you adapt.

Sometimes you decide that you’re going to do things your way.

Knowing which response makes sense is a form of wisdom.

You Learn How to Be Uncomfortable

This might be one of the most important life skills travel develops.

Being uncomfortable doesn’t mean something has gone wrong.

Sometimes it means you’re learning.

You don’t know the language.

You don’t know the neighborhood.

You don’t know anyone.

You don’t understand the customs.

You don’t know how the transportation works.

You don’t know what you’re supposed to do.

You feel awkward.

You make a mistake.

You figure it out.

Then you do it again.

Eventually, your definition of uncomfortable changes.

You start realizing that you can handle uncertainty.

That matters.

Because adulthood contains a lot of uncertainty.

You won’t always know what job you’ll have next.

You won’t always know where you’ll live.

You won’t always know whether a relationship will work.

You won’t always know whether a decision is right.

Learning that you can be uncomfortable without falling apart is incredibly valuable.

You Become More Independent

Independence isn’t simply doing everything yourself.

It’s knowing that you can figure things out.

That’s different.

You miss a train.

Figure it out.

Your plans change.

Adapt.

You don’t know where to go.

Ask someone.

Your roommate has a problem.

Talk about it.

You make a mistake.

Own it.

You’re in an unfamiliar place.

Pay attention.

These are small moments.

But hundreds of small moments add up.

Eventually, you stop thinking, “What am I supposed to do?”

And start thinking, “I’ll figure it out.”

That is confidence.

You Learn That Your Way Isn’t the Only Way

One of the best things travel can teach you is that there are many different ways to build a good life.

Maybe you grew up believing everyone should go to college immediately after high school.

Then you meet someone who worked for a year before college and loved it.

Maybe you thought everyone wanted a corporate career.

Then you meet someone who runs a small business and loves their lifestyle.

Maybe you thought success meant making as much money as possible.

Then you meet someone who values free time more than income.

Maybe you thought everyone wanted to live in a city.

Then you meet someone who would rather live in a mountain town.

Maybe you thought you had to choose one career and stick with it forever.

Then you meet someone who has reinvented themselves three times.

Your assumptions begin to loosen.

And that can be liberating.

That’s Especially Important When You’re 18, 19, 20 or 21

When you’re young, there is enormous pressure to make decisions about your future.

What should I major in?

What career should I choose?

Should I go to college?

Should I stay in college?

What should I do after graduation?

What am I supposed to do with my life?

What if I choose wrong?

These questions can make it feel like you need to figure everything out immediately.

But you don’t.

You need information.

And one of the best ways to gather information about the world is to experience more of it.

Meet more people.

Try more things.

Go more places.

Have more conversations.

Pay attention to what energizes you.

Pay attention to what doesn’t.

See how other people live.

Then make decisions.

Experience Gives You Better Questions

You might leave home thinking you know exactly what you want.

Then you travel.

And you discover you don’t.

That’s not failure.

That’s learning.

Maybe you discover you love working with people.

Maybe you discover you hate sitting behind a desk.

Maybe you realize you want to live somewhere outdoorsy.

Maybe you discover that you love hospitality.

Maybe you meet an entrepreneur who makes you want to start something yourself.

Maybe you discover a career you’ve never heard of.

Maybe you realize the life you thought you wanted isn’t actually yours.

Those discoveries are valuable.

Sometimes the best thing an experience can give you isn’t an answer.

It’s a better question.

Different People Expand Your Definition of Possible

This is one of the most powerful reasons to meet people outside your normal circle.

People show you what is possible.

You meet someone who moved across the world at 19.

Someone who started a business at 21.

Someone who changed careers at 30.

Someone who works seasonally and spends the rest of the year traveling.

Someone who chose a completely unconventional path.

Someone who decided not to follow the plan everyone expected.

Suddenly, your own choices feel less predetermined.

You realize there isn’t one correct timeline.

There isn’t one correct career.

There isn’t one correct way to become an adult.

There are thousands.

And you get to choose.

Travel Teaches You About Yourself Too

The funny thing about meeting different people is that they don’t just teach you about them.

They teach you about yourself.

You discover what you care about.

What you defend.

What you question.

What makes you angry.

What makes you excited.

What you value.

What you don’t value.

What kind of people you enjoy being around.

What kind of environment brings out the best in you.

You can’t always discover those things by thinking about them.

Sometimes you have to live them.

That’s why travel can be such a powerful form of experiential learning.

You don’t just learn about the world.

You learn where you fit inside it.

Your Life Gets Bigger When Your World Gets Bigger

There is a version of growing up where you stay close to everything you’ve always known.

Same town.

Same friends.

Same routines.

Same ideas.

Same expectations.

And there is another version.

You go somewhere new.

You meet people you never would have met at home.

You hear stories you’ve never heard.

You try things you’ve never tried.

You discover perspectives you didn’t know existed.

You come home and look at your old life differently.

Not necessarily because your old life was wrong.

Because your world is bigger now.

That’s growth.

You Don’t Have to Travel Across the World

Travel doesn’t have to mean backpacking through Europe for six months.

It doesn’t have to be expensive.

It doesn’t have to involve a passport.

You can move to another state.

Work in a mountain town.

Spend a summer at a resort.

Take a road trip.

Work somewhere you’ve never lived.

Join a program.

Live with people from different parts of the country.

The important part is getting outside the environment that has always defined you.

Sometimes going 500 miles away can teach you as much as going 5,000.

The Best Education Might Be the People You Meet

There is a lot to learn in a classroom.

There is a lot to learn from books.

There is a lot to learn online.

But there are things you can only learn from people.

How to disagree respectfully.

How to ask better questions.

How to listen.

How to compromise.

How to communicate.

How to adapt.

How to understand another person’s experience.

How to recognize your own assumptions.

How to become comfortable with uncertainty.

How to build relationships with people who aren’t like you.

Those are not just nice qualities.

They’re some of the skills that make people successful at work and in life.

Go Find People Who Will Challenge You

If you’re 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 or 22, you have an incredible opportunity.

Your world is still expanding.

You have time to experiment.

You have time to make mistakes.

You have time to change your mind.

You have time to meet people who will completely change how you see something.

Take advantage of that.

Go somewhere you’ve never been.

Work with people you don’t know.

Live with people from different backgrounds.

Have conversations with strangers.

Ask questions.

Listen more than you talk.

Try things that make you uncomfortable.

Let people challenge your assumptions.

And don’t be afraid to change your mind.

You don’t have to come home with a completely different worldview.

You just want to come home with a bigger one.

That’s one of the great gifts of being young.

You aren’t finished becoming who you’re going to be.

So give yourself more experiences.

More people.

More perspectives.

More places.

More questions.

Because the world doesn’t get smaller when you discover that other people see it differently.

It gets bigger.

And so do you.

At AdventureEXP, that’s part of what we mean when we talk about real-world experience. Our Destination Work Programs give young adults the opportunity to live somewhere new, work alongside other people, earn money, explore a new community and experience life outside the environment they already know.

Because sometimes the most important thing you can learn isn’t something someone teaches you.

It’s something you discover when you meet a person who sees the world differently and realize you have something to learn from each other.