It’s that time of year again where a huge portion of the UK will be getting themselves worked up about A-level results and the choices that will change the course of their life for the next few years.
A lot of the worry will be coming from parents, not whether their spawn will get the grades to go to uni; I had a mate who went to university with two E’s, but more the financial impact that it’s going to have on the family for the foreseeable future.
I was fortunate enough to study back in the day of grants and fair tuition fees, but university these days costs a fortune; averaging £53,000 to be precise according to thisismoney.com, which would go a long way in the University of Life…
Now don’t get me wrong, there is a place for the great university adventure and studying the right course will send you on the road to prosperity and fulfilment for sure. However, I personally think that after countless years of formal schooling and structure, now is the perfect time to have a bit of fun, whilst learning what you may and may not want in life and travel can be a great teacher.
As cliché as it sounds travel broadens the mind, develops cultural empathy and gives us in general a better understanding of the world. Sleeping in until midday, living off Dominoes and throwing up in drinking circles with the rugby team are all great life lessons, but the experiences travel gives you will improve your social skills way more than any ‘socials’ will, whilst putting you on the path to becoming an all round good human being.
Here are five ways why I think the University of Life is the way forward and travel is a great teacher.
Number one: Be bored again
Now this sits firmly in number one in my opinion, as you’ll be forced to relearn how to be bored in a public space. Exploring new places believe it or not comes hand in hand with spells of nothingness, sitting on trains, waiting on trains, queuing, driving, all usually without wifi. It’s brilliant. No unnecessary phone checks, no time-wasting texts, no insta-scrolling and before you know it, you’ll be repeating the Metallica mantra: “Boredom comes from a boring mind.”
Game of chess to pass the layover? PC @pindygram
Number two: Managing Money
There’s no better way of understanding how to manage your money and build knowledge of the value of money than being in a foreign country. You will save up working an array of jobs no doubt to pay for this epic trip and then have to budget daily, exchange currency using weird foreign coins, all of which will give you a better understanding of the way money works. Getting a student loan that barely covers your rent and bleeding your parents dry to fund your new-found drinking habits doesn’t really set you up for the real world.
Number three: Priorities
“Nandos or Wagamama?” Sometimes in life it’s hard to judge what’s necessary and what’s a luxury. When traveling you have the often over-looked decision on prioritising what to pack, which teaches you the invaluable lesson of what you can survive without. Once this skill is mastered, you can apply it to everything and live a fulfilling clutter-free life.
Number four: No Regrets
You will make some right decisions and some wrong decisions, but whatever choices you make you will keep on keeping on. Travelling is one long life lesson in taking risks, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, making plans and making decisions that you have to stick to. By all means get some advice and read the Trip Advisor reviews before making any decisions, but then just do it.
This can then be applied to everyday life, especially university; “Do I do my essay now then go to Oceana or do it tomorrow with a massive hangover?”
Number five: Food for thought
This is totally a personal opinion and shows how I prioritise things in my life, but most will agree that appreciation of food and devoting time to meals creates a healthy and balanced approach to an ever-increasing problem part of our lives; food.
When we travel we try new things, see different cooking techniques and learn how other cultures eat together. Usually always a whole lot better than the Western TV dinner setup. Pushing your own boundaries in the kitchen and breaking those old habits are vital in living a healthy happy life.
There are loads of other reasons why travel is a great life teacher, learning the local lingo helps us appreciate that we are sharing this single planet with cultures so different to ours. Haggling respectfully with locals for gifts, clothes, food etc will give us an awareness of basic economics. And visiting places of hardship will create an empathy in our souls that will stay with us forever. You don’t learn this stuff at uni, but after these experiences you can go to uni with a more open mind and clearer idea of what you want to achieve with your studies / university experience / life.
All photos @pindygram
Or you may just carry on traveling and living the dream; it’s your choice, allow it.
If the thought of travel scares you, we run the most incredibly awesome Gap Year Surf Instructor Courses and Surf Trips that will nourish your soul, give you all of the above said experiences and set you back a lot less than going to university for a year. Check some of them out here.