By: Rubinder Kaur (630950)
There are a plethora of articles out that go something along the lines of: If you are in your twenties and not travelling, you are doing it wrong or Drop whatever you are doing and travel the world while you are young.
The authors who write these articles talk about their own travelling journeys like it was a huge awakening filled with nothing but exhilaration. They talk about finding their raison d’ etre in a country halfway across the globe amidst foreigners and a different culture. They say their backpacking trip across Europe taught them the true value of friendship and that teaching poor kids in Africa allowed them to find enlightenment. The end is always the same. They are now changed people who will never dare take life for granted.
These articles seem to promote the notion that travelling makes one a better person and if one is not travelling while they are young, then they are wasting their youth away.
There has been an increase in the number of people travelling annually in Australia. Research shows that in 2011, more than 7.5 million Australians, which is more than one third of Australia’s population travelled abroad. This number is rising significantly.
Travelling is definitely an insightful experience, but not everyone might feel that way. There are people in their twenties who are focused on building their careers, furthering their studies or are content with living their lives simply. Travelling is great, but to tell everyone in their twenties to take on the world by travelling might be impractical, especially if it is not their top priority.
Kalwant is a 34 year-old travel guide who organizes tours and has been to countries all over the world. Bungee jumping in New Zealand to eating fried grasshoppers in Thailand, she has done it all.
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“Young people nowadays seem to think that travelling is going to help them grow into better people with all the right answers to life. While that might work for some, more often than not it does not work for the majority. Drinking Sangria in Spain is not going to give you the answers nor is farming in Sri Lanka going to miraculously going to make you a better person. Neither cultural differences nor financial disadvantage should encourage one’s search for personal meaning.”
She is of the view that travelling for the sake of looking cool and fitting in does not aid personal growth in any way.
Take traveling in Europe for example, where tourists travel from one state to another without spending more than three days in one particular state. Posing for pictures with famous icons such as the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben just for the sake of Instagram, having a crazy night out with a bunch of friends in a foreign city – how does that make one grow as a person?
Visiting four cities in a week is no easy feat but while covering these cities, did any of these tourists make a life-changing discovery about themselves? Did they forge everlasting friendships with strangers within a day or two? Travelling is an incredible experience and while it has the potential to be an eye opener, that does not mean it always is.
Going to a third world country to do humanitarian work and then showing it off all over social media defeats the purpose of travelling altogether.
Elsia Phua, a 23 year-old student, goes on mission trips regularly to help under privileged children all around the world.
“I enjoy knowing that I can make a difference, it’s a great feeling. I see a lot of my friends going on trips like that because that is what everyone around them seems to be doing. My advice to anyone who goes on these mission trips hoping to find themselves is that things like that do not change you. Your perspective on life may change but fundamentally you will still be the same person. If you are happy where you are, do not allow others to convince you otherwise. Travel because you want to widen your horizons, not because your best friend is asking you to.”
One can stay put in their hometown and discover a great deal about themselves and those around them. Often, the hype around travelling comes simultaneously with the deprecation of other things namely routined lifestyles and not taking risks.
Authors who glorify travelling seem to insinuate that going to work daily and returning home once done means that one is not a “risk-taker” which automatically makes them creatures of comfort. Yes, that might be the case for some, but not everyone.
People have bills to pay and families to feed. Not everyone is able to leave their job or families and take off on a year long adventure. Blessed are those who are able to because their finances allow for it but it is important to know that not everyone is as privileged. Therefore, the rising trend that is to “leave your job immediately and travel” is a problematic one.
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Once back from an adventure, will bills automatically pay themselves? No. Will the company one left be automatically willing to hire them back because they have supposedly found their purpose in life and are now of full of zest? No, not necessarily.
There are many people in their twenties who are in debt but travel anyway. Research shows that debt consolidation can leave you in even deeper debt. These people then find it difficult to make ends meet when their travel stints end.Therefore, to promote the idea of dropping responsibilities just to travel might be slightly irresponsible. Adventure is great, but being practical is vital too.
Harvind, 25, strongly resonates with this. Harvind is a young mum who had her first child when she was only 23.
“Yes, travelling with your friends is always fun. However, that was not my main priority when I was younger. I wanted to start my family and saving money was key. I am financially independent now and I can travel anytime I want to with my husband and kids. A lot of young people want to travel but they do not have the proper finances and end up in debt when back from their trips. Why not save when younger and use your savings to travel when you can stand on your own two feet?”
Harvind says missing out on having adventures of a lifetime with her friends definitely did upset her, but she knew what she wanted and she was not going to stray from it.
“I have always known I wanted to start my family young. When most of my peers were planning for their graduation trips, I was doing family planning with my husband. I remember many of my friends asking me to go on trips with them but honestly, at that point of time, travelling was the last thing on my mind. When I declined and told them that I wanted to concentrate on my relationships at home, they said I was ‘boring’ and had no idea how to enjoy life.”
This is something many people in their twenties do not understand. Staying put in your hometown and forging deeper relationships with the people you love is one of the most rewarding things one can experience. Sharing your life with someone on a daily basis is a special connection that cannot be recreated in any other part of the world with a travel buddy.
The point here is this – everyone has their own meaning to life. There is no hard and fast rule that dictates that one can only have fun by travelling in their twenties. People need to stop putting a time limit on living life. Someone who has never travelled is no less of a person as compared to someone lives life out of a suitcase.
I have nothing against travelling. In fact, travelling is a great way to enrich one’s soul. However, everyone should be allowed to do what they want to in order to find meaning in life and not let society tell them that they are doing it wrong.
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