I first ventured out of the country at the ripe age of two years old. Now, almost two decades later, the same intense feeling of wanderlust that drove my parents to visit Europe with two children under the age of six has me making itineraries for imaginary trips and researching flights to unrealistic destinations.

I’ve watched friends spending their summer days-- or in some cases days they could’ve spent in classes-- backpacking across Europe, hiking mountains in Hawaii, and going on safaris in Africa. I live for viewing pictures of their trips, contemplating whether or not it will one day be my pictures that someone is anxiously waiting to see. I secretly envy those who get paid to travel around the globe and share every detail of it with the world, and I hope that, by some miracle, I can one day do that, too.

But instead, I spend my days attending college classes, waiting silently for the cute boys in my classes to notice my existence, and dreaming of dropping everything and going.

Despite the fact that I’m a broke college student who decided to spend money on classes and books rather than plane tickets and souvenirs, I’m perfectly ok with my wanderlust rocking me to my very core every second of every day. A sense of and longing for constant adventure is one affliction I’d rather not live without.

Traveling is something that I firmly believe everyone should do at some point in their lives because there’s so much to be gained from visiting new and foreign destinations. Fly to Scotland and try to consume haggis or journey halfway around the world and go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef or explore the Sahara in Africa. There’s no limit to the adventures you experience and the things you encounter when you discover a place a little out of your comfort zone.

Learning about new cultures is something I will never take for granted in my limited-- but rewarding-- travels. In my junior year of high school I flew 17 hours by myself to be a part of a volunteer project in South Africa. Apart from the obvious culture shock that occurs when you’re thrown into a new place with new people and a different lifestyle, I gained knowledge on so many things that I would’ve never thought to learn about before. I found that the happiest people lived through the worst situations and that some kids would rather play soccer in the sand after school than play video games.

Trying new things (and new food) is an adventure in itself. Haggis was something I had no intentions of consuming during my visit to Scotland, but, surprisingly, it’s not as terrible as people made it seem. Ostrich jerky? I never knew it existed until my trip to Africa. Petting lions and visiting the ruins of castles and walking across the Golden Gate bridge were all things I never thought I would do in my lifetime, but thanks to my constant thirst for adventure, those experiences are memories and not dreams.

If learning about new cultures, trying new food, and making dream experiences a reality hasn’t made you want to stop reading this and buy a plane ticket, let me tell you about the best part of traveling the world. It’s not the stories or the souvenirs or even the secret jealousy your friends feel about your adventures. It’s the people you’ll meet along the way. Traveling has given me lifelong friendships, interactions that have changed me for the better, and a family tree with branches that encircle the globe. I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today without the people-- who have different cultures and experiences of their own--- who, by sheer luck and happenstance, I got to meet.

Sure, sometimes I just want to give up everything I’m doing right now, become transient, and roam the world. I wish so unbelievably badly that I could, because I know that’s what would make me happiest. For now, I’ll wait until the next adventure finds me, or the money to fund the next adventure does.

But I’m ok with letting my desire and impulse to wander around the world keep me dreaming, at least until those dreams become a reality.