At the writing of this column, I am miles up in the clouds looking down into the Atlantic. After two weeks in England, I came to realize on the way back that there was more to my trip then just ancient buildings, double-decker buses and perfectly English accents. There were memories. There were experiences. There was life.

Seeing the world may be the most influential and essential part of life. To not only learn about culture, but to actually interact with it, is an experience we should all have. Whether it is your dream to go to Hawaii, Nepal, Australia or Chicago, there always seems to be a barrier in between the dream and the reality.

Much too often, travel is associated with opportunity. Almost always, it’s connected with money and the lack thereof. This is not a barrier, however. This is the lack of making your own opportunity. Money comes and goes, as do opportunities. To truly have a grasp on what you want to do, you have to make it happen yourself.

If seeing the world is something you always tell yourself you want to do, simply do it. Make a plan for yourself. Whether it involves getting a job or whether it involves not spending all the money you make at your job, there are things you can do to make room for travel.

One great way to save up money, no matter what your financial situation may be, is setting aside a certain amount of money every day or every week. Whether you set up a travel bank account or you have a manila envelope you slip cash into, make an effort to designate money to only spend on trips.

Putting a few dollars away each day is much easier than it sounds. Resist your two-shot-hold-the-foam latte and pocket those four bucks for Ireland. Hold back from buying a few scratch tickets next time you’re at the gas station and save that money for your jet-setting adventures to Peru. Buy yourself a Brita filter and save yourself the 300 bottles of water you probably buy a year and keep that extra cash for a trip to Japan.

The little things add up. A few dollars here and there is not a huge life style change or a hole in your pocket. Five dollars a day for a year is $1,825 for you to get out there. You can do that.

Another good way to make opportunity for yourself is to save up with a friend. Traveling alone might not be your ideal, so find a friend or group of friends with similar travel ideas. Friends are great pressure for saving up money too. Peer pressure works – as middle school so perfectly exhibited.

Also, if you happen to have a friend who is traveling abroad, living somewhere you’d like to visit, or has family living somewhere you’d like to go, take the opportunity to go there first. Not only do you not have to pay for a hotel, but you are able to experience your destination in a whole new way. To go somewhere and live like a local is an experience in its own.

Once you are at your place of choice, try your best to acclimate yourself with where you are. Don’t feel obligated to check out every tourist attraction and waste all your money on scams. It’s free to go look around and drink in the culture. Meet people who live there, check out natural attractions and see where life takes you.

Also, when it comes to your big decision of where you want to go, think out of the box. The commonly advertised places like Orlando, Florida and Cancun, Mexico, might be cheap to buy tickets to, but once you’re there you spend just as much money as if you were flying across the world. Think about the long run and how worth your while it will be at the end of your trip.

A huge misconception people have with seeing the world sometimes isn’t thinking in the box, it’s thinking outside of the United States. There are places right here in this country with no oceans to cross and no passports needed that are potential memory making escapades. Whether you cram a van or RV full of friends together and motel jump to California or you spend a weekend on Lake Michigan, your trip money can go toward great things.

The important part is that you do it. Don’t just say it. Your life isn’t going to wait for you to have money to burn. What better time than now to do what you want? If you want to see the world, then go see it. Stop making excuses and start making your life happen.

Leigh Greaney is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].