Traveling the world as a high school student can be a transformational experience that promotes self growth and contributes to an expanded world view.
Though teenagers learn about the world and faraway places every day in school, traveling to a foreign land is an immersive, all encompassing experience that is impossible to replicate in the classroom.
It’s one thing to hear about the glory of an African Safari and another to be ON it. Photos and videos help to visualize and understand the environment, but to actually be there is to experience.
To be there is to set out at dawn for the best chance of seeing the lions, elephants, and giraffes in their most active state.
It’s to feel the air grow more crisp the further you descend into the crater and to wrap yourself tighter in the Massai Shuka you bought in an attempt to stay warm.
It is to look down and be mere feet from a lioness who decided the optimal place for a mid morning nap is by the tire of your safari car.
No amount of classroom education can replace the act of truly experiencing a location — a culture and its people. To travel there yourself means you activate all five senses. Suddenly, you’re completely wrapped up in a place.
It becomes all consuming.
Taking a simple walk through a market allows you to smell and taste foods you’d never even heard of. There are sounds of motorbikes and stall owners calling out to patrons, ushering them towards their product. Babies toddle around while parents try to reel them in. It’s so alike home in some ways, yet there are worlds of differences.
There is no doubt that travel is one of the best educations you can receive. So, why go as a high school student? Why not wait until you’re older? Why now? And how?
Affording to travel the world, especially at a young age, is a privilege. I will leave resources to scholarships and opportunities at the end of the article.
7 Ways Traveling as a High School Student is a Transformation Experience
1. Exposure to the World
Though we live in a world where we are more connected than ever, no amount of virtual connection will ever match the experience of actually venturing out into the world. Meeting people from all different backgrounds and life experiences opens our minds to a world of new possibility.
We see new landscapes, taste new foods, try new activities and grow as people! This is especially true in youth who are still very actively learning about the world and changing as individuals on a daily basis. Teenagers are often less stuck in their ways than adults and are more open to completely embracing the newness around them.
2. Gain a Sense of Independence
Being a teenager is being in that strange stage of life where you’re sometimes treated like you’re already an adult, yet others as if you’re still a child. It’s a time that is designed to foster and encourage independence that is needed later in life.
There is nothing quite like traveling to foster that sense of independence. Travel requires you to learn to rely on yourself and your own abilities. Traveling with a group gives teens the space to begin to practice that self reliance while giving them the support they need.
3. Learn What You Like
Many high school travel programs include a range of themes and activities that are designed to have students try out as many new things as possible.
Being young is all about figuring yourself out. That means learning what you like, and what you don’t like. Traveling creates a space to try all kinds of different ventures.
4. Open Mindedness
Teenagers are one of the most adaptable and open minded groups of people. They’re discovering what they like and don’t like, what their values are, and what they want in life.
Traveling abroad and gaining exposure to different ways of life fosters understanding, compassion, and empathy.
5. Confidence Booster
Discovering your own capability does wonders for confidence.
Successfully getting yourself from place to place, making new friends, trying new foods, and consistently getting yourself outside of your comfort zone aids in building that confidence.
6. Gain Problem Solving Skills
Traveling forces you to problem solve.
Feeling homesick? What are you going to do to relieve that feeling/get through it?
Flight delayed? How do you navigate changes?
Language barriers? How do you get around them to communicate?
Traveling is all about trial and error. Take advantage of learning these skills within the comfort of a support system. They’re skills that will transfer to everyday life as well!
7. Meeting People From All Around The World
Meeting people from different states and countries means learning about different ways of life and different perspectives. We learn SO much by interacting with people who are different than us. In a world full of division, it is powerful to come together and learn from one another.
Plus, having friends and connections around the world is the BEST. You’re able to visit one another and see all kinds of new places with a local!
Personal Stories [Growth I’ve Seen Firsthand]
I’ve had the opportunity to support and mentor over 60 high school students as they traveled abroad. In the time I spent with students, I had the opportunity to lead group conversations and hear one and one the impact that the teenagers felt from their weeks away from home.
Students Shared With Me:
- Experiencing a greater sense of belonging and connection among their peers
- Discovering a new interest they once believed they wouldn’t enjoy
- Feeling more comfortable sharing their thoughts, opinions, beliefs, struggles, and joys
- Learning that they can handle big feelings with tactical strategies and some support
- Understanding peoples differences and learning to work with a variety of people
– I listened to students ask thoughtful questions to a Buddhist Monk and join him in a meditation. Days later, I saw them use strategies they learned from him when they were feeling anxious.
– I heard them seeking out locals in an attempt to learn some of the language.
– I watched them support one another through the process of teaching in classrooms for the first time and pour their time and energy into creating the best lessons they could.
– I saw how gently they interacted with elephants and how inquisitive they were about the ethics of animal tourism.
– I noted the way they supported one another every day when someone was feeling homesick, anxious, or excluded.
Every day I was impressed with their resilience, desire to learn, and compassion towards one another.
Choosing The Right Organization
Not all organizations/groups that host teen trips abroad are the same. Each organization has a different focus and thus will result in fostering different kinds of growth among students. I detailed the questions you should ask yourself before choosing an organization and how to go about choosing the right one for YOU here.
While there is no guarantee that every student will have a transformational experience during or after their time abroad, most will leave feeling at least somewhat more confident, open minded, independent, grateful, or changed in some way.
The Most Growth Comes When The Student WANTS To Be There
From my experience, the most growth I see is in the students who WANTED to be there in the first place. Students who have invested time, money, planning, and anticipation into going abroad are the ones who I have seen absolutely thrive.
I remember being 17 years old on a safari in Tanzania having the most incredible experience of my entire life. I remember looking to my right at the sleeping lions feet from the safari car and being in absolute awe. I then remember looking to the left at the safari car next to mine and seeing a teenager with his family… with headphones in both ears and dead ASLEEP.
This is what I have found to be true the majority of the time. The students who invested in the trip are the ones who come out of it feeling transformed in some way. Students have to buy into the experience themselves. It is not something that can/should be forced upon them by parents.
What You Give Is What You’ll Get
If you go into your experience with an open mind and open heart, ready to learn and connect… you will get so much out of the experience.
A trip abroad is all about your attitude. People love people who want to learn and grow and connect and discover and enjoy!
Resources and Scholarships
Global Leadership Adventures Scholarship/Financial Aid
Where There Be Dragons Scholarship/Financial Aid