There is a certain glamorization of the “service trips” many young adults are lucky enough to take during their college or post-grad experience. The country an individual finds themselves in is automatically filtered, captioned and uploaded onto three different social media sites, all before a suitcase is unpacked. It is therefore easy for the public to regard such trips as mini vacations or travel experience rather than valuable work. Additionally, a stigma exists surrounding the benefits of sending students abroad on humanitarian, education or health policy trips as well as letting foreign students come to the United States to do similar work. Many would argue it is more beneficial both economically and socially to keep American students in local or nationally based projects, since there is absolutely no shortage of work that needs to be done in our country. However, there is a huge advantage to this cross-cultural, international and mutual exchange of help. Whether or not your trip to Africa or South America is technologically modified by an app, the results of travel and international service are boundless, not just for the individual, but for the entire global community.
The benefits of international service are two-fold. For one thing, service and volunteer work are proven to help people who suffer from depression and loneliness ward off negative feelings, as well as ensuring the volunteer in question feels more connected with their community. In addition, service has been shown to actually lower blood pressure due to increased activity and getting people out and moving where they might not have been typically. Service, especially at a young age, is a long-lasting way to gain perspective, knowledge and compassion. During a busy time such as university or post-grad, when stress is high and responsibilities are higher, volunteering can become a sort of constant in a hectic and unpredictable schedule.
However, it is the second part of the equation that I find to be most interesting: traveling to different countries to complete this service. To me, there is a difference between vacation and travel. Vacation implies rest, relaxation and comfort. Travel, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Genuine travel, the kind that will impact you, is a challenge. Travel will make an individual question whether their daily necessities really are that necessary, teach them about customs different to their own and prove to them that the depth of knowledge one gains on a trip, however short, is limitless.
Research also supports the notion that traveling really does change you as a person and can impact your personality and psyche. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looked at two groups of students — one group experienced study abroad trips, and the other did not. All individuals in both groups were measured using the Big Five Personality test to examine their initial levels of extroversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness and emotional stability. Additionally, each person had a measure of their friend group or social circle done to see what changes would be made by the experience.
Researchers found that those who went on a study abroad trip, regardless of where it was, had higher levels of extroversion, openness and conscientiousness. They did not react so strongly to daily struggles and were able to get along better with people in their personal and professional lives. Those who experienced life abroad also expanded their social network with people from different countries and made more connections than those who stayed home.
There is no denying that travel and service individually are extremely beneficial for any young adult. But it is the combination of both that can change a person’s entire perspective, teach them how to communicate and assist better both internationally and locally. Bringing back the connections and skills one learns while traveling and simultaneously getting into the land to help can do so much for each individual community. Sending our youth abroad and subsequently accepting the youth of other countries would prove exceptionally valuable to America as a whole.