1. You find out that you LOVE foods from anywhere but home.

Mexican food in Puerto Rico is to die for.

2. You might pick up a new hobby or find something you never knew you liked before.

Is underwater basket weaving fun? You'll never know until you tried.

3. You find out that every city has a certain smell.

And not the gross kind of smell, but the kind like Albuquerque New Mexico smells like sagebrush and sand while Nashville Tennessee smells like beer and rain

4. You learn that people outside of your small community are incredibly interesting.

Every person you meet has a totally different story, they have an incredible life that is unique to only them. Knowing that there are people out there living life differently than you and still totally rocking it can be really eye-opening.

5. You might find out that the person you think you are isn’t your true self.

This one might shock you but the people you surround yourself with shape who you become, so if you travel somewhere else, you get to make the choices that shape your adult life.

6. You become more independent.

I spent the summer living in Colorado with some family and being away from parents and siblings allows you to branch out in ways you never knew you wanted to.

You are totally different when you can't lean on your sister to keep conversations going, it helps you find out what you are like by yourself.

7. You will learn more than any book could ever teach you.

You learn cultures, people, foods, environments, climates, anything you could think of! The knowledge you gain is endless when step outside your front door.

8. It gives you a really cool story to go back and tell your besties about.

You’ve probably already snap-chatted them about your cool summer trip a million times but you can't wait to tell them in person how cool it was to wake up every morning at the crack of dawn just so you could watch the sunrise in a new place.

9. You get memories that last a lifetime.

In 20 years, you aren’t going to look back on college and think “Oh I loved that day when I was in American History class and the guy behind me sneezed.” You're gonna want to say “That time when I hiked Mount Saint Helen's was AMAZING!”

10. You'll regret it if you don’t.

When you are looking back on your life, you'll only regret the things you didn’t do. You won't ever regret seeing a new place, making a new friend, trying something new. SO JUST DO IT. Go out and get those experiences, they are waiting for you.