Travel - even if just for fun - does a lot in terms of expanding your mind and soul and being a better communicator.
#1 Fresh Perspectives
I find that traveling is a way for me to find inspiration for writing, photographs, or even just a new view on life. I often look back on my experiences for writing ideas. I recently just looked back on my journal that I kept on my study abroad trip to Copenhagen to help another student looking to study there - so it can be valuable in making connections.
I also feel inspired to use my time better. While traveling, I try to stay off of my cell phone and enjoy the moment, and then I try to carry that on after returning home.
Sometimes the aesthetic of a new place can be inspiring to redesign your own living space or become a better photographer when trying to capture all the beauty. When I travel, I usually end up going on a cleaning spree because I want my living area to be as inspirational, relaxing, or eye opening as my trip.
#2 Exposure
I also find that traveling allows exposure to a new culture, ideology, and language (even if traveling throughout the U.S.). This exposure results in a broader worldview that makes you a more open-minded and well-rounded individual.
#3 Get Out of Your Bubble
I'm not a fan of traveling in groups. Not only does going rom place to place take longer, but it also doesn't allow you to get out of a social group and be with your own thoughts.
I think this is true if you stay at a tourist resort or something similar. I like to be immersed in the place that I am in - stay in a space that resembles where locals live, eat at the local hot spots, and enjoy all parts of a place, not just the tourist area. I fell that if you are with your fellow travelers, then you are with people with similar mindsets, a tourist mindset, and not experiences the full depth of the people in that location and their lives.
#4 Witness and Observe People
I find that traveling allows me to see people in a new light. For example, young music artists trying to get picked up by producers, jumping at any chance to play, feeding off of the crowd, trying to build a hype be and fighting for tips so that they can feed their family; a young couple working long hours at the local bar to provide for an unplanned child on the way; homeless men and women of all ages scurrying about busy beaches and parks to collect cans and glass for payment from the city - an affluent family tosses their empty beer bottles to the ripped clothed people holding bags.
Seeing these people who are different than me help me to see how policy, science, or other will effect people other than myself.
#5 Apply Travel Stories to Real Life
I can apply my travel stories to real life situations. I often look back on my time abroad or when I was in a new place to remember passed experiences and apply them to current problems.
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