Why You Shouldn't Travel

Everywhere you turn, your friend is somewhere trekking the trails of Machu Pichu or sipping on a margarita on the beach, making funny photo shots in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or your favorite travel Instagramer is posting a photo of her view of the airplane wing from her seat, the YouTube travel vlogger is at a new location once again. And here you are, sitting at your desk, scrolling through your social media feeds with envy and jealousy. So what do you do? Hop on all the flight searching websites and apps to find the cheapest flight for the earliest time possible, right?

Travel is a lot of fun, it teaches you so much more than just to say you've been there. Travel shouldn't be about envying where everyone else has been, it should be about what you learned from it. Sure, it's nice to have those stamps in your passport and be able to share amazing stories to your friends and family and your followers on social media, but don't travel for the sake of being a tourist.

If you need to borrow money or open a credit card account just to afford travel, it's better to hold off until you can afford it. Get your debt paid off as much as possible before you start worrying about traveling. There's no reason to dig yourself in a bottomless debt-hole just to go somewhere for a short period of time. Travel will always be there and if you have the will to live out your dream of traveling, then you will find a way to do so without being in debt.

If you are looking to go to a specific place because everyone is sharing their photos or stories about how amazing it is but you don't really have any desire to go, don't go! Just because it was voted the "Top 10 Places of...." or the "The Best of..." doesn't mean you have to follow along. The world is full of amazing places that have yet to be discovered. Why not be that one friend who can say "I went to this amazing place and met some amazing locals without all cost of being a tourist", and having your friends say "Wow, I've never heard of that place!"

Your friends are collecting all those stamps but here you are with only 5, so you try to convince yourself you need to go to as many countries as possible, as soon as possible. Don't! Travel is not a race, it's a journey, so embrace it, whether it takes you 1 month or 15 years! Who are you trying to prove by speed-traveling? What are you trying to gain from it? If your answers have no logical reasoning, then please take your time and enjoy the world.

You want to learn budget traveling but hate the thought of sharing a room with strangers or you don't have the time to scour through millions of websites for the best deals. Look, budget traveling is not for everyone. So if it's not your style, then don't do it. If you want to experience it once to test it out for yourself, then do it. But don't set high expectations and then talk negatively about it because your bed was too small and uncomfortable, or the water pressure wasn't strong enough in the showers at your hostel. Budget traveling is exactly what it is, and you get what you pay for. Those who do it, love it because it allows us to travel more without paying more. It takes time to find the best deals, but the time put into it is well worth it for us!

Everyone has different priorities, maybe yours doesn't include travel at the moment. So don't feel pressured to travel because that's what everyone is doing right now. Traveling has become extremely popular due to the availability of low-cost airfares and the increasing popularity of budget traveling. But if your priorities do not align with this trend, there's no reason why you need to follow the crowd. Who knows, maybe by the time you are ready to travel, that one popular tourist spot will be less crowded and enjoyable, and you'll be able to take that amazing selfie without 10 other stranger's faces in the background!

Travel for yourself, travel to unknown places, travel to learn and immerse yourself. We don't always travel this way due to time constraints, but these are always our main goals.

Why do you travel? Or why don't you? Please comment below and share your story!