If you go online, it seems as though traveling is the most glamorous activity there is. Your social media page will be inundated with selfies and heavily edited photographs of surreal landscapes and fantastical places (have you looked at my Instagram? Same thing, minus the selfies). What you don’t see or hear about are the difficult parts: how tired you are from moving around so much, the bane of all kinds of transportation (and how it inevitably is delayed, cancelled, uncomfortable, or exhausting), the fatigue from having to make so many decisions—where are you going to eat? Where are you going to sleep? Which sights are you prioritizing in this place? How are you going to stay within your budget? None of those things are usually posted about on social media.

But they’re there, let me tell you. And I can say honestly, it’s all part of the experience, of the journey. It’s 100% worth it. Every day is a chance to get better at weathering incoming storms. Because the storms will always come, whether you’re traveling or not.

And when you do travel, every day you learn more about this beautiful planet and the incredible people that inhabit it. It helps us connect and grow as a species. My grandma once told me every American child ought to be required to study for one year abroad, that it would teach them what the rest of the world is like and make them better people. That’s pretty spot on if you ask me. If I were to give a child advice: “get out and see the world. It’s an amazing place."