The one thing I miss about being in school is getting a vacation every couple of months. I remember feeling sometimes as though I was hanging on for dear life, just waiting for the next week-long break. A break from my routine. A break from the mundaneness of day to day life. A break from the usually scenery and a break from the break-neck pace at which I was running.

Now that I have graduated from college and am in the workplace, I am no longer given assigned weeks off. Luckily for me, I happen to work for bosses that encourage me to take time off every once in a while. A couple of weeks ago, my boss encouraged me to take time off before the craziness of the Christmas season ensues (I work in a church so Christmas equals all hands on deck to make the season merry for the attendees). So I decided to take a quick trip down to San Luis Obispo to visit my sister.

As I sit here sipping hot chocolate and people watching,I am reminded of why I, and most other 20-somethings love and need to travel every so often.

1. Getting away is good for the soul

It really is. There is something about being in a new place with new people and new experiences that is just good for us as humans. I really believe that taking a break from routine and normal life is like hitting the refresh button on our souls. We get so caught up in the details of our day to day life, and those details can become all-consuming. When we get away for a bit, we are reminded that there is a whole world out there, and that our problems are actually not going to destroy us.

2. Good food

I will admit that although I am not much of a foodie, I love restaurants. I love the atmosphere of people coming together and taking time to just relax and enjoy. Enjoy life, enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy some good food. I love finding obscure, hole-in-the-wall restaurants whenever I travel because the food is always well-prepared and delicious. These restaurants seem to take on the charm of whatever town they are in, and I always feel as if I know a place better after exploring the restaurants.

3. New people

I love spending time in a new city where there are so many people whose lives I know nothing about, and who know nothing about mine. There is something refreshing about striking up a conversation with a barista that you’ve never met in your life and discovering how much you actually have in common.

4. Fresh perspective

We all need it every once in awhile. I can get so bogged down by the day-to-day activities of my life that I forget to actually enjoy life. Lately I’ve found myself complaining about things that I should be rejoicing about, and stressing about things that I have already placed in God’s hands. Getting away has allowed me to remove my head from the sand and look up so that I can be reminded of who I am and what actually matters.

5. Connecting with people that anchor your soul

Because I am a 20-something, I am not exactly a millionaire, which can make even a quick getaway stressful because of the spending potential. But I have found that some of the best trips are the ones in which I go and stay with someone I love. The cost of staying somewhere is eliminated, and it is much more fun to spend a couple of days with someone that knows me almost better than I know myself. Being around my sister always makes me feel better about life. She has this unique ability to know when I just need someone to listen and understand and when I need some harsh truth to be spoken to me. She reminds me what unconditional love is and gives me a place to be completely myself. There’s something about conversations with siblings and old friends that seem to ground us, as they remind us where we’ve been and how far we have come.

6. Give your brain a break

I took a workplace psychology class in college, and it was not really my thing. But the one thing that I do remember from it is that productivity improves when you give your brain a break every once in awhile. It seems counterproductive to take time away from work, but pushing through exhaustion only leads to slow work and frustration. Every time I take a trip, I am always hesitant to leave my job. My head swirls with thoughts of all of the meetings I will miss and the projects I will fall behind on. But after my week away from work, I feel like my brain has been refreshed. I may be a bit behind physically, but mentally I am recharged and I know that I will get to work this weekend with fresh vision and excitement.

7. Adventure

I believe that we were created for adventure. Life with Jesus is far from boring. I believe that we are supposed to allow God to take us to new places and show us things that it would be harder for Him to teach us at home in the busyness of our lives. I believe He has given us a craving for excitement because He wants to use us for crazy, exciting things. And sometimes that exciting thing is a week away. A week of nothing but time to sit in His presence.

8. Long Car Rides = lots of time to process and think

One of the biggest reasons I took this trip was because God had brought up a major hurt in my life that I needed to process through. He needed me to get away so that I could actually take time to sit and talk with Him and process through this thing that had happened to me that I was still carrying. Although the five hour drive was not the most fun car ride, as I spent the majority of it wrestling with God, I can say that I feel a thousand times lighter than I did before I left for this trip. Spending hours on end crying out to God is daunting and scary, but it is the only way that we will ever really grow or heal.

9. There’s a world out there, and we should see it and be part of it

We are called to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and we don’t always have to go across the world to do so. Because of this call, I believe God has placed a thirst for travel in all of us. He has placed a desire to be part of the world. Although I am only five hours from my home town, and the culture here is not that much different from the culture where I live, I still love being in a new place and getting to see more of creation and getting to meet more of God’s children. There is a whole world out there. A world that is desperate to see Heaven on earth, and I want to be a part of bringing Heaven to as many places as I can while I am on this earth.

10. Appreciation of Home

The biggest thing that happens for me when I go out of town is that I am reminded how much I love my home. I love my little house that I live in with two of my dearest friends. I love the church that I work at, that I have built a home for myself in. I love the adventures I get to have with my best friend. I love evenings at my parents house when my mom has a home-cooked meal ready for me. I love sleeping in my own bed. I am blessed beyond anything I can imagine, and I am so thankful for the life I have been called to.

So there you have it. Go see the world that we are called to be part of. Whether that’s taking a quick trip to a beach town a couple hours away or flying halfway across the world. Have an adventure. Meet people. And come back with a deeper love for the place you get to call home.