Hey everyone, it’s Scott here, and today I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while. You know how on social media, people often ask the question, “What are five things you wish you knew when you were younger?” Well, I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and while I won’t list five things, there is one thing in particular that I wish I had known when I was younger. And that’s the fact that it’s okay to just go travel.
You see, when I was 18 or 20 years old, I had no money, and like most young people, money was the biggest factor holding me back. This was before the days of YouTube and the plethora of travel blogs we have access to now. I had no one to show me the way or give me tips on how to travel with little to no money.
Fast forward to when I was 27, and I had been working on a pipeline construction project in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. We were living in a man-camp in the middle of a game refuge, and I had only left the camp once in six weeks, aside from going to work. I had made a lot of money, though, because our lodging and food were all taken care of. I had this epiphany one day while accessing Facebook or something – “I’m going to go to Europe.”
Over the next couple of months, I learned so much about backpacking in Europe. I discovered hostels, which offered cheap accommodation, and I watched videos and read suggestions about travel itineraries, what I should and shouldn’t do, and how much money I should plan to spend each day. I overloaded my itinerary with too much, though, which is something I now know not to do. Whatever your itinerary is right now, it needs to be smaller. Less is more in this regard.
I wish I had had a mentor or someone to tell me, “Scott, college will be here in two years. Go work for a year, live at home, save money, and then go travel the world for a year.” When you’re younger, it’s easier to backpack Europe and live in a dorm-style setting with 20+ other people. Your body hasn’t aged, and things hurt less, so sleeping night after night on a cheap hostel bunk bed won’t affect you. Honestly, you’ll probably be falling asleep drunk anyways.
I took the leap to backpack Europe at 27 years old, and while I wasn’t too old to do it then and had an incredible experience, I wish someone had suggested it was a possibility to do sooner. But I didn’t have those mentors where I came from.
I backpacked Europe once more in 2021 at the age of 37, ten years after my first trip. This time, I went with my former spouse, Kylie, and it was my farewell trip to pipelining. Knowing that I would not have the empty months to travel or do the things on my terms as frequently in between jobs anymore. Unfortunately, this time, it was an incredibly different experience. COVID protocols were everywhere we went, and trying to navigate crossing borders was a job in itself. And…you are just older. Age changes everything. But still, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
So, to all you young people out there, if you’re considering traveling, go for it! Go and live! You won’t regret it. Just remember to start small, plan ahead, and take it easy. Happy travels!
