Photo Credit: SGastaldi
Given the fact that this is graduation season, you’ll often read and hear stories about commencement speeches and inspirational material about life. There are countless great ones, including Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford and Conan O’Brien’s commencement speech at Harvard.
All of these speeches are the musings of men and women who have lived life and made a name for themselves giving back and imparting knowledge or wisdom of some kind. Often, they use the adventure metaphor to describe life. It’s true. Graduation is a time that marks the end of something, and you grow and embark on a new adventure. If you’re looking for wisdom and guidance, a summer of travel and exploration may grant the ability to look within right before you move on to the next step of your life.
Now even if you’re the spontaneous type, it does make sense to have some sort of a plan before your big adventure. Here are some things that you might want to keep in mind before you go soul-searching:
How are you going to pay for it? Even if your summer vacation is an adventure towards mental clarity, you’ll still need to eat and shower somewhere. If you have savings or a regular job, this might not be a problem, but if you need help, this could be a good time to save up some extra cash, possibly gifts you received from relatives and close friends for your graduation.
Who are you going to invite? This actually ties in with the first question because the number of people you go with could significantly lower food, gas and lodging expenses. Ask anyone who has travelled long distance in a car with someone else: Who you pick to sit next to you or in the back seat truly matters. The last thing you want is to have your trip spoiled by a bad traveler – or worse, someone with a really small bladder.
How are you going to get there? You could fly, but where’s the fun in this? A vehicle can be a great investment for your trip, not to mention for the years that come after. Again, this might be a good time to prioritize those graduation funds or your savings. For any kind of road-trip adventure, choose a vehicle like a Jeep Wrangler, Subaru Outback or a Ford Fusion. A vehicle that is dependable, gets decent gas mileage and will be able to handle the terrain your adventure takes you is an invaluable asset to your trip.
Where are you going to go? The destination is the million dollar question. Do you see yourself travelling across the U.S. in true Jack Kerouac fashion? Maybe you want to head north across the Canadian border and experience a different country. There are any number of amazing places in the world that can make a beautiful backdrop to your summer of self-exploration. Do some research and plan accordingly.
Wherever you choose to go, this could be the summer that you have the best vacation of your life!
Jess Holmes is a lifestyle blogger who enjoys writing about travel and DIY.
