There are lessons that no classroom can incorporate, and wisdom that no curriculum can confine. For some people, education begins and ends within four walls, but for others, it starts the moment they step beyond their university campuses. Travelling is attending the institute of life where culture is the syllabus, and humanity the final study. In every metropolis, accent, and handshake across borders lies a hidden assessment guide.
One that teaches humility, empathy, and the vastness of what we do not yet know. You can research about patience, but you learn it when your flight is delayed at the airport. You can study geography, but you feel it when the desert winds kiss your face or rain falls on unfamiliar soil. You can write articles on diversity, but you will truly understand it when you share a meal with someone whose religion, culture, orientation, tongue, and laughter are nothing like your own.
Travelling and exposure to diverse experiences often helps to dismantle arrogance. The world’s great teachers are not found behind desks. They are the street vendor in Nairobi who smile through adversity, the Scottish cab driver who shares tales of lost wars and how he found love in a different ethnicity, the Nigerian grandmother who tells you true stories that never made it into books. Every border crossed is a page turned, and every stranger met is a footnote in the book of wisdom.
Embarking on journeys replaces fear with familiarity, and prejudice with perspective. It teaches you to listen before judging, to observe before assuming, and to appreciate before criticizing. And when you return to your abode, you will realize that home itself has become larger. In school, we learnt that the world is spherical in shape but not a perfect sphere, but through travel, we know that it is also beautifully uneven in its struggles, its rhythms, and its humanity.
A child who goes on trips regularly learns empathy before economics, and perspective before politics because travel does not just show you the world, it also shows you yourself reflected in its vast diversity. So the more you see, the less you stereotype. The more you tour around the globe, the more you understand that wisdom is not limited to postcode or passport only. This is the kind of education that comes from standing before a massive ocean or an ancient ruins.
The humility of realizing how small we are in the grand scheme of things and the true story of time is awesome. That awareness is the seed of wisdom. While on a voyage, you will not only encounter different cultures, but other versions of yourself like the bold ones who dares, the patient ones who listens, and the grateful ones who pauses. So pack curiosity in your heart, and not just clothes in your suitcase. Let the world educate you in gratitude, resilience, and grace.
Travel doesn’t just change your location, it also changes your perception. The world is the greatest teacher, and its lessons are written in the footprints we leave behind.
William Z. Bozimo
Veteran Journalist | Columnist | National Memory Keeper
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