If you ever get the opportunity to travel out of the United States, it will change your life.

**Disclaimer**: I hope this post doesn't come off as "I've seen the world, now I'm going to preach to Americans who haven't." I'm American myself, and I've only traveled to 11 countries, and over 40 states in my life thus far, and I have a lot to learn myself, but I just want to say that if you haven't traveled out of this country yet, make it a priority because it really is a paradigm shifting experience.<br><br><br>**Why we as Americans don't travel out of the country often**<br><br>I believe there are many reasons why we don't travel out of the country often as Americans. I think it's safe to say the vast majority of Americans will never travel out of the country. Why is this? From my experience of having conversations with people, I think the vast majority of Americans don't even have a passport. Why is this? I think the main reasons are that Americans don't need to travel to experience different cultures, climates, languages, and ways of life. We have many international cultures in big cities, we have mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers, cities, etc. We also speak the most widely spoken language in the world which opens a lot of doors for us. On top of this, many Americans are afraid to travel to other countries due to fear of not speaking the language, being treated differently, being fearful of new experiences, and in today's world, terrorism.<br><br>**What have I learned from traveling**<br><br>For me personally, traveling has taught me to be extremely open minded and to not judge a book by its cover. I make it a point to talk to as many people as I can and get their opinion on current matters and issues, and why they feel a certain way, and I ask as many questions as possible. Honestly, a lot of the time I leave the conversation with a completely different perspective and point of view, even if I don't necessarily agree with it. I think sometimes it's good to get out of echo chambers and hear people's opinions that you have never thought of or considered. I have also learned to be extremely grateful and appreciate the small things in life. People in other countries that are considered 3rd world countries to us have characteristics and traits that we as Americans don't possess, and many times I find that they are much happier with less than we are. Lastly, I think as Americans we take a lot of things for granted. I think many times we don't realize how good we really have it. There are a lot of universal basic rights we have in America that many countries don't have, such as clean water, clean air, food, shelter, Internet access, etc. The list is very long, and I think sometimes Americans don't even realize what we have.<br><br>**In conclusion**<br><br>In conclusion, I think if given the opportunity to travel out of the country, it will most likely be a paradigm shifting experience. It has been for me, and I'm just an ordinary American from the United States. I personally think traveling is very important for the soul, and we should all make it a priority. Thank you for reading.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit #1: thanks so much for all of the support and upvotes. I'm glad so many of you can relate to my story! I wish everyone has the chance to travel out of the country at least once in their life.