Why You Should Be Travelling During the School Year
Why wait for the next seasonal break (or even graduation) to travel when the reasons to travel now are so enticing.
By Jessica Huynh, Storyteller for RU Student Life
The semester’s almost over and I feel like I’ve spent more time flying on planes than I have walking on solid ground. In the last three months, I’ve been in Lisbon, Calgary, and Montreal. This holiday, I plan I flying back to my hometown for the month. I’ve been non-stop travelling anytime the opportunity strikes, despite being in school full-time.
When my obsessive vacationing gets brought up in conversation, many people ask me how I’m finding the time (and resources) to travel amidst everything I’m holding down: full-time studies, a job, and an apartment. The answer is simpler than you think: I travel because I make it a priority. That, coupled with saving, dedication, and a great deal of planning.
But I’d be lying if I said it’s been an easy journey jetting off a week before midterms and spending it fighting my internal clock to stay awake just long enough to squeeze in some quality studying. I’d be deceiving you if I said it hasn’t been stressful scrambling to do as much schoolwork as I can mentally muster prior to leaving. Because in all honesty, vacationing during school is waking up early, staying up late, and saying no to a day of sightseeing so you can sit in your cramped Airbnb to finish your 2000-word research paper. Despite these unpleasant downfalls to travelling during the semester, I still believe the pros outweigh the cons. Here’s why:
Cheap Flights — Everyone knows travelling during the off-season can be the difference between penny-pinching on vacation and spending semi-luxuriously. Reading week occurs early to mid-October and mid-February, which is arguably the best time to travel if you’re a student hoping to go anywhere abroad. If you keep your ears on the lookout, you can find some sweet YYZ deals.
Fewer Tourists — Travelling when everyone else is in school is a great way to experience a new city without craning your neck to see a cultural artifact, waiting in long lines to climb a bell tower, or squeezing in-between people to get that breath-taking shot. There’s a certain je ne sais quoi that lingers in the air when every fifth person isn’t holding a selfie stick. You can witness and interact with locals who are warmer now that their city isn’t being swarmed with tourists.
Affordable Accommodation — Instead of booking the first available Airbnb/hostel/hotel that doesn’t give you the heebie-jeebies, you can choose from a wide selection of overnight accommodations that will also save you some extra cash. That’s right: another perk to travelling when it’s less busy is enjoying the cheaper $/night value, which means more spending money for you.
Sparks Self-Efficiency — Planning for a vacation motivates you to be on top of your school work. I didn’t want to spend my vacation labouring over school the entire time, so I had to extremely organized and hyper-efficient with my time prior to leaving. For instance, I mapped out my entire semester to determine what days I could leave and what days I could come back without missing any major deadlines. I had to take on the role of the leader in group work, so I could contribute my share while I was away. I’m more focused this semester than I was in previous years, and yet I’m experiencing so much more. It’s fantastic!
Creates Something to Look Forward to — Nothing motivates you more than knowing your hard work will be rewarded. Even when I felt over-worked or stressed, I kept reminding myself that in a few weeks, I would say, “Hasta la Vista” to Toronto and experiencing new food, culture, and places somewhere far away.
Teaches You How to Budget — Realistically, you won’t be making enough money to go on an elaborate trip while you’re in school full-time (unless you plan on going somewhere affordable or you lucked out with a well-paying job). The bulk of your income will come from savings 3–5 months prior to leaving. As someone who pays rent, I had to make sure those costs accommodated for before I could even consider vacationing. I was working close to 50 hours a week in the summer to keep myself afloat while saving enough so I could vacation and support myself when I came back. Working all summer was worth it for me, but I can understand that some people would rather have a relaxing summer. The important takeaway from all of this is to budget so that a vacation won’t put a strain on your priority expenses. At the end of the day, budgeting is all about making sacrifices. I sacrificed my summer so I could travel during school. That was worth it for me.
Opens Your Summer Options — The primary reason I’m travelling so much over my last year of school is so I can keep my summer open to career opportunities. I graduate this upcoming June and my goal is to find work as soon possible, which means I won’t be going down that ‘Backpacking after Graduation’ route that many graduates will. I’m treating this time in my life as that last push before I embark on my career and as a little congratulatory gift to myself before the big send-off.
Whether you travel before, during, or after your studies (or not at all), it’s all about prioritizing what you want and executing. There’s not one way to go about life. For me, travelling during the semester kicked my travel bug to the curb while allowing me to remain true to my long-term goals. As they say, “If there’s a will, there’s a way!” Even if that means waking up groggily at three in the morning to communicate with group members on the other side of the world.
