As I was researching the topic of traveling, I discovered that most individuals experience changes to themselves all from just going out and exploring. Traveling can be experienced when an individual or more goes somewhere on some sort of transportation. Traveling is to explore and venture off into the world, going out of the comfort zone, and seeing what is really out there.
Traveling can be for fun, but it can also serve as something that will not only benefit the person itself but others as well. Those can include going into the peace corp and helping the poor. In my research paper, I will be discussing the various benefits of traveling. It will include what attributes the traveler will gain, or what individuals do exactly when helping others in traveling like when being apart of the Peace Corp.
As a traveler myself, I travel for the purpose of learning about different cultures and expanding my horizon. As I do this, it allows me to express my true self wherever I go. Not only that, the traits that I gained throughout my travels, makes me a stronger and better person. “Traveling invariably leads to your needing to talk to more people — be it flight attendants, the hotel concierge, or a taxi driver in a foreign country.
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As you get more adept at dealing with strangers, it will become easier to make conversation”(Allyson). It allows the person to build a stronger, outgoing personality that enables them to be more social and gain the confidence to not be afraid of doing something new or being on there own. “When you travel, you immerse yourself in new landscapes, architecture, and works of art.
As they seep into your consciousness, it’ll allow you to take new creative approaches in your own life, whether it comes to gardening, decorating your house, or taking on new challenges in the workplace”(Allyson). “It found that exposing your brain to new languages, smells, tastes, and sights by living abroad improves creativity”(Winter). People gain insight into the world and its beauties. It grants a new passage in their mind that lets their creativity explore vastly. Not only that, but they also gain an appreciation for the culture they are experiencing and understanding how different countries of the world work.
To broaden more upon self-reflection from traveling, traveling changes the person in various ways.“Travel changes your perspective by improving your relationships with others. This article also suggests that vacationing, particularly near the water, helps to reset our emotions and be more compassionate towards others”(Allyson). It’s as if it is a reset button on individuals, and they grow from there travels.
“Regardless, when shown an alternative, people who travel at least question what they’ve always known and in doing so, they become open to other ways of doing things. In this way, travel is a pure form of education”(Allyson). Traveling gives opportunities for people, and it allows them to do something other than the usual. To go more into the psychological part, there has been researched specifically done on traveling and how it affected the people.
“In 2013, German researchers investigated the psychological effects of traveling. They utilized a group of German students, half of whom were preparing to study abroad in a foreign country; the other half were planning to stay at their home university. The students were all given personality tests to establish a baseline, and the tests were repeated at the end of the semester.
Their results, which were published in the Journal of Personality, found that traveling does alter your personality for the better in five overarching domains: emotions, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to new experiences”(Winter). People will undergo these things, which benefits the individual as a whole.
Traveling can consist of a person doing short-term and/or long-term global assignments. If a person travels, they are allowing themselves to see what other parts of the world do for a certain thing. For example, many business people will go traveling in order to get a bigger and better aspect of there company/product and what will really bring in money.
“Moreover, international work experience has been recognized as an important component in global leadership development (Black et al. 1999) and as a method to build competitive advantage for multinational corporations (MNCs) (Carpenter/Sanders/Gregersen 2001, Spreitzer/McCall/Mahoney 1997). Many organizations encourage managers and future leaders to develop global vision, boundary-crossing skills, and effective global networks (Kanter 1995, Quelch/Bloom 1999)”(Konopaske). People build skills like leadership and are able to tackle down their business and be successful in life. “Globalization continues to exert substantial influence on a worldwide basis.
Kanter (1995) summarized the impact and importance of globalization when commenting that: ‘Globalization is surely one of the most powerful and pervasive influences on nations, businesses, workplaces, communities, and lives…’ (p. 11). In order to thrive in this era of globalization, it is critical that businesses develop their human resources in a way that enables them to achieve and sustain competitive advantage”(Konopaske). It’s essential to travel because it will be beneficial in the end of the business. It will exceed and bring a great influence upon the world. Not only that, but it also gives a better understanding and an improvement on what needs to be done in order to succeed.
Traveling can be a particular assignment for an individual, if they took part of, for example, the Peace Corps. The main motive of the Peace Corps is that it allows individuals from around the world to volunteer in a program that provides social and economic development abroad. It is run by the United States government and they assist through technology, as they gain a better understanding of the world. Many operations are taken place on the African continent. “We immediately began to survey the South African government and develop program strategies for areas of needed development.
We have worked very closely with the South African government throughout the process, and the agreement just signed in December is the end product of the first steps for the Peace Corps to enter the country”(Hudson). He gained his research and motives on how to help the people by talking to the natives and understanding the problem.
“Volunteers sent to South Africa will engage in the training of the delivery of health care systems to the townships and rural areas of the country”(Hudson). Africa has limited supplies in their country, which volunteers then come in to help aid. When one travels, they can experience and see what other countries go through and gain the motivation to join the Peace Corps to continue not only traveling but helping people along their journey.
I wanted to expand on the whole motive of the Peace Corps, just because it’s such an extraordinary thing that people come apart of. “we hope to bring in volunteers who have backgrounds in hydraulic engineering and can develop wells that will provide a source of water closer to local villages and communities. Furthermore, if wells are closer to a village, many of the women will have more time to nurture and educate their children”(Hudson).
With the problems of water being a consistent problem, volunteers are able to help fix the issue so there is enough water that will be consistent as a source. It can also go for food, which food is also a limited source there. Volunteers bring in the resources that are needed like food to help the people. I think that when people really explore into the less fortunate parts of the world, it opens there eyes more. It allows them to take another look at life, and make the ultimate decision not only to continue traveling but helping people as they do so.
Works Cited
- Allyson. “Research Shows Travel Changes You for the Better – Here’s How.” Worldpackers, 26 July 2019 www.worldpackers.com/articles/research-shows-that-travel-changes-you-for-the-better. Accessed 21 Apr. 2020
- Hudson, Derrick K. ‘A new beginning: the U.S. Peace Corps and South Africa – an interview with Peace Corps Deputy Director Charles R. Baquet III.’ Africa Today, vol. 43, no. 2, 1996, p. 199+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link-gale-com.ezp1r.riosalado.edu/apps/doc/A18570083/AONE?u=mccweb_riosalado&sid=AONE&xid=955260ca. Accessed 1 May 2020.
- Konopaske, Robert, et al. ‘Managerial willingness to assume traveling, short-term and long-term global assignments.’ Management International Review, vol. 49, no. 3, May 2009, p. 359+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link-gale-com.ezp1r.riosalado.edu/apps/doc/A203482334/AONE?u=mccweb_riosalado&sid=AONE&xid=66672efb. Accessed 1 May 2020.
- Winter, Lisa. “Science Says You Can Satisfy Your Wanderlust And Improve Your Personality At The Same Time.” A Plus, 24 June 2015, https://articles.aplus.com/a/ways-traveling-improves-your-life?no_monetization=true. Accessed 21 Apr. 2020
