Imagine for a moment that you have two friends who recently immigrated to the United States and are now moving into their first apartment. Knowing how stressful the process can often be, you offer to come by and help them unpack.
When you walk into their kitchen to grab some water from the refrigerator, you open the door and to your surprise, you find all of their clothing - socks, shirts, pants, etc. - gently folded and lining the refrigerator shelves.
In complete shock, you turn to your friends and ask, "what...are these doing in here?". To which they reply embarrassingly, “That’s not for our clothes?”.
Holding back your laughter, all you can say is, “Not at all.”
I will admit that the excerpt above is not based on a true story, but its underlying principle holds great value - especially to the subject of world travel.
Everything around us - our phones, pencils, notebooks, cars, refrigerators, etc. - has a defined purpose. Throughout history, men and women alike have engineered inventions and ideas that challenged the status quo and brought value to society. In fact, over half a million applications for a U.S. patent were submitted in 2015 alone. While these inventions spanned a diversity of industries, the golden thread linking them together is summed up in the word: purpose.
Every product, new technology, or piece of manufacturing answers the question of why.
I find that this question is often taken for granted. Many - myself included - can get so caught up in doing life that the question of why fades into the background. Yes, I would guess that most people around the world know how to use a refrigerator, but how much time do we really take to assess the purpose behind our day to day lives?
The late Myles Munroe once wrote, “When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable”. These thought-provoking words echo a powerful truth for our consideration on traveling the world.
You see...time and money are two of our most valuable resources, and many of us know the painful feeling when we waste either of them. Ouch, right? Just thinking about it brings back memories. Interestingly, these are the two foremost ingredients to a successful trip anywhere in the world: you take time away from doing something else and you pay money to travel from point A to point B.
At WellTraveled, we like to push the envelope on our approach to working with students. We advocate for venturing into The “Zone of the Unknown” and setting “Bite-Size” Travel Goals to help them along the way.
We also believe in only traveling with purpose. We want our students to find the why behind their desires to travel the world. There is a special drive and motivation that rises to surface when you attach purpose to what you are doing.
Have you ever felt that? That deep conviction to the core when you understand the why behind your work, your studies, or - in this case - your travels.
We strive to help our students reach this place because 1) absent of any purpose in traveling, they are bound to abuse their time and their money, and 2) we know the opportunities that unfold when they are motivated by a greater cause to see the world.
Finding the purpose for your travel is a personal journey and an exciting one for all who choose to accept the challenge. Some of the many questions that can guide your “Why I Travel” statement are:
- What are your personal values?
- What gets you excited about traveling the world? Be specific.
- What global issues are of interest to you?
- What skills, abilities, and natural talents do you bring to the table?
- What does a perfect world look like to you?
Our corporate vision is for every young person to have the opportunity to experience the world. And we know from our own personal journeys that experiencing the world is so much sweeter and leaves a more lasting, relatable story when it has a solid purpose behind it.
Motivated by the why behind their travels, our scholars are destined to make an impact that will surely inspire and encourage others to be WellTraveled.
Educators/Parents - Do you have your “Why I Travel” statement? If so, walk your children and/or students through some questions that will help them find their purpose in travel. Feel free to send the finished products to us and we’ll share them on our social media platforms.
Students - Let's work on those statements! Get excited about finding the why behind your future travel. Walk through the listed questions and let us know how you'll be traveling on purpose.
Stay Educated. Stay Empowered. Stay WellTraveled.