Why Is Travel Better Than Education
If you go by Saint Augustine’s quote – “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”, travel is a huge gamut of learning. Yes, travel is education. In fact, it is far greater than the traditional education that we get through school textbooks. Though I don’t intend to rule out the significance of formal education, I really want to hit hard on the fact that travel is your school for life.
I love my own travel quote, too – “The world expects you to be well-educated, but I’d rather like to be called well-travelled.”
Also read: How Do I Manage To Travel (Who funds my travels?)
Travel is your practical classroom.
Travel is your school for life without a classroom. You don’t mug up anything. You make notes on the pages of your heart and mind. The breezes, the dust, the sun, the rain, the people – their smiles, gestures and language, the colours and textures of various things, the taste of different cuisines, the thrill of witnessing a beautiful landscape, the joy of listening to some great cultural music and the fear of getting lost in the unknown… there’s so much to experience when you travel. You touch and feel everything; and thus, the lessons on the road resonate with you forever.
Also read: How Did I Quit The Cubicle For The Road?
Travel makes you get out of your comfort zone.
I think that’s the best part about travel that it takes you out of your comfort zone. Your passion for travel makes you do things that you wouldn’t think of doing otherwise. In my case, I have travelled under dire situations – have been cramped like luggage with other passengers on long, rough road trips, stayed in dirty hotel rooms once in a while, and experienced many little stupid things that just happen, but you take them in your stride, because you want to travel!
Travel introduces ‘the alternative way of life’ to you.
I seriously believe that travel is another way of life. Those who don’t travel miss out on so much about life. On the contrary, those who travel get introduced to the much more meaningful way of life. In my opinion, a traveller has power of better perspectives, better experiences and better knowledge than a person who hasn’t been on the road. Well, I don’t intend to belittle the experience of staying home and raising children and building relationships. In fact, I have deep respect for homemakers. But, travel teaches you a gamut of things beyond your own life, family, relationships and education.
Also read: How Travel Breaks The Biggest Myth Of Life
Travel makes you discover the real you. It refines you as a person.
Yes, travel gives you the freedom to be who you really are without any pressures. Your smile on the road is one hundred percent genuine and not obligatory. You do things that you really like to do, and not because someone has told you to do them or you ought to do them to fulfil some norm. Also, you become a better version of yourself when you travel. In fact, you become deep as a person, and also tolerant of the frivolousness of life, because you know you are sitting at a vantage point from where you can have the best view of life.
Also read: How To Be Happy During A Pandemic?
Travel makes you wiser and smarter.
Travel makes you tough. The wisdom that you attain on the road is different from the conventional wisdom or intelligence of the life sans travel. Travel teaches you the economics of travelling on a budget, yet experience exceptional joys and adventures. Travel makes you learn about the history and geography of a place.
I don’t know about you, but I’m fond of studying maps. I always go through the map of a place that I’m about to visit. So, travel makes you learn things naturally.
Travel opens your mind. It gives you the real picture of things and scenarios.
I’d like to validate this point by giving you an instance – my solo travel to Kashmir unveiled so many facets about the people of Kashmir that I didn’t know about. What I experienced in Kashmir was far from what I had heard about it. People form a notion in their head, which is given to them from one instance. But sadly, the ‘one instance’ notion becomes the truth in people’s minds until they discover the ‘real’ truth themselves. The people of Kashmir are as polite, respectful and friendly as the people in your own backyard. And yes, it’s absolutely safe to travel in Kashmir as long as you take care of yourself nicely (the way you’d anywhere else).
Also read: My Experience Of Travelling Alone In Kashmir
Travel opens your mind. It gives you the real picture of things and scenarios.
I’d like to validate this point by giving you an instance – my solo travel to Kashmir unveiled so many facets about the people of Kashmir that I didn’t know about. What I experienced in Kashmir was far from what I had heard about it. People form a notion in their head, which is given to them from one instance. But sadly, the ‘one instance’ notion becomes the truth in people’s minds until they discover the ‘real’ truth themselves. The people of Kashmir are as polite, respectful and friendly as the people in your own backyard. And yes, it’s absolutely safe to travel in Kashmir as long as you take care of yourself nicely (the way you’d anywhere else).
Also read: My Experience Of Travelling Alone In Kashmir
Travel has no scorecard, but you are always on a high.
Each trip gives you something substantial, something worth reminiscing. No matter how troublesome or challenging your travel could get, you still end up experiencing something that adds value to your life. For instance, I look back at my Arunachal Pradesh journey with a fondness for I got to stay with a Monpa family in the last leg of my trip, which helped me understand their way of life so deeply. My trip turned out to be epic not because I ticked off many places, but because I immersed into the place on a personal level. So, quality is always above quantity.
What about you? What has travel taught you?
If you enjoyed this post, you can –
Subscribe to receive ‘new post’ updates through Email.
Become a fan on Voyager For Life Facebook page.
