This summer your news feed might just have been overwhelmed with pictures of your cousin doing a missions trip in Honduras, a friend's vacation to Germany and a whole host of lucky ducks living it up on a semester abroad. And you might be slightly jealous. On the other hand, you might be the only one you know who hates staying in the same place. Travel? Nobody seems to value that.

Regardless, wanderlust has hit you hard. There's only so much you can sigh over airplane ticket prices before you need to do something about it. I know my bank account says a trip to the nearest turnpike out of the question. If you're in the same boat (you know, the boat that's going nowhere), there are a six ways to feed your explorer's spirit.

1. Read!

When in doubt, a book is usually a good place to start. I mean, if you had the money you could buy a packaged tour of Europe, but where's the fun in that? One advantage of not having everything you want means that you're more emotionally invested in where you can go.

So read! There are a ton of travel guides, memoirs and novels waiting you. A book can teach you a little something about culture and give you an idea of where you really want to visit. There are huge books of photographs that will give your would-be traveler's soul an aneurysm.

Bonus: The library has them for free.

2. Try some themed decor.

Tape a large map to the wall, put one of your over-sized travel books on display and clutter your room with knickknacks from around the world. Print out some pictures of places you'd like to visit and make a collage. This doubles as some travel inspirationand makes your dorm a little less dull. For added world explorer eye candy (or for a pretentious flare), eschew cliche destinations like the Eiffel tower, Big Ben or the Great Wall of China. Ditch those in favor of sites you personaly want to go. Like all those places you've learned about while reading.

3. Ask questions, make friends.

Don't be afraid to ask people who travel or have lived in other places questions. So long as you're tactful and polite, most people like to talk about themselves. And there's no shame in making friends along the way. It might with other broke college students who want to travel or the one who've actually gone places.

4. Explore local curiosities and make day trips.

While I'd like to claim I've exhausted the possibilities of my hometown, I'm forced to admit that's not true. The typical free museums and similar attractions are old news to me, but there are still a plethora of ethnic food markets and hidey-hole pockets of culture that remain unknown. Make it a goal to find as many hidden gems as you can in, say, an hour away from home.

Day trips also hold possibilities. Summer isn't over yet, so see if you can't squeeze a small trip somewhere close. I've been to the beach and I'm planning a Chicago trip with my roommates at the beginning of the school year.

5. Go virtual.

With virtual tours of art museums, Google Earth, and any number of blogs... we've got it made. Years ago people might never have heard of a hippopotamus. Today, we're pretty spoiled, even if we can't go far.

Bonus: Atlas Obscura is pretty great.

6. Travel.

Y'know, it actually doesn't take that much to set aside a little money. Ditch the Starbucks, don't buy tons of new clothes, eat on-campus with friends. It'll add up slowly. Apply for a semester trip, go somewhere nice for a long weekend. Say screw it and save up for a week in Spain.

Maybe next year I'll get to go on a May term trip across America. Or renew my passport. Baby steps. Slow going is still moving.