Going on adventures while being young creates an incredible amount of opportunities and useful experiences that will be beneficial for years to come.
However, those adventures do not necessarily have to be long, perilous journeys halfway around the world, nor do they have to break the bank.
On the contrary, adventures entail just about anything, such as a camping trip or a road trip to the best amusement park, whichever one it is now; those kinds of things are so hard to keep track of.
But it does not stop there. Taking a course that is outside of your comfort zone is an adventure, trying out for a team is an adventure, going on a bar crawl is a glorious, intoxicated adventure (that we hope to remember), going away to college, getting married—those are all adventures, and not one is better than the other.
Sure, one might seem cooler or more exotic; however, the point of an adventure is not to look cool to everyone else. It is learning something about yourself or some life lesson that has been engraved in your destiny and will help shape the individual you become. Also, you need to have at least some fun doing it, even if the fun only lasts for a while.
Adventures, even small ones, are needed for self improvement, there is no doubt about that, but that does not mean you should go rushing off to some foreign land to accomplish something you never thought you could.
Regardless of the type of adventure, financial security should take priority and can determine whether or not you make it home from the adventure you decided to take.
The last thing anyone wants to do is have to sell their belongings or hitchhike home (which is incredibly dangerous and is not a justifiable option by any means).
Plan ahead, if you can, especially for bigger journeys.
Do not get caught with your pants down just because you were in a hurry to go somewhere.
Make sure there is enough money in the bank and you budget for meals. If you want to keep it cheap, do not eat out as much and check out what sights you can see, whether you are on that road trip or somewhere in Europe.
Always be sure to consider your survival. Although it is important to consider all the possibilities and be aware, do not overwhelm yourself with negative thoughts like “I’m going to run out of money” or “I’m going to die.”
And if you do start planning an adventure and find out you cannot afford to go, then that is OK too and does not mean your life is over or boring.
Life requires a heck of a lot of patience, so learn some, save your money for some good times and remember it could always be worse—you could be in jail.

Analicia Haynes is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].