Shannon UllmanAfter months of daydreaming, you finally have it all worked out. You’ve chosen your dream destination, planned out all of the particulars and are just about ready to embark on your journey. You feel more ready than ever except for one minor detail – you haven’t gotten permission yet from the ones who keep a roof over your head; your parents.
Every young wanderlust driven person deals with the parental permission issue at least once in their lives, you’re not alone. The best way to combat parents who don’t see eye to eye with your journey is to be armed with a convincing argument for why you should be allowed to go. Here are just a few points that you can use to persuade your parents that your dream trip is actually a good idea.
1. You will have experiences that you can’t have at home
“Don’t you want me to experience the world?” They better if they know anything about personal and career development. Sometimes, international experiences just can’t be recreated properly at home. Sure, you can read about the Buddhist religion in books but can you give offerings to an actual monk passing by you on the street? Probably not. You can try Chinese tea from the Asian supermarket but can you experience a traditional tea ceremony by someone who knows more about the tea than you know about your own family members? Unlikely.
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2. Your money will be spent on experiences other than things
Remind your parents about what people your age typically spend their hard earned money on-clothes, makeup, fast cars, drinking beers and electronic knick-knacks. Wouldn’t they rather have you spend your money on educational and cultural experiences? Let them know what an investment you will be making when you spend your money on traveling to your dream destination. The memories you make and the knowledge that you gain can never be broken, stolen from you or ever go out of style.
3. You will learn how to be independent
There is no faster way to learn independence than to throw yourself into a foreign country and try to make it on your own. It will be up to you and you alone to make sure you catch the right public transportation, feed yourself proper food, keep yourself safe and do it all when you can barely speak the language and are unfamiliar with the culture and the place.
4. You will pick up a few useful skills
How to read a subway map, communicate without language and navigate around a new city-these are all skills that you may not learn otherwise. Letting you travel where you want to go is like allowing you to study abroad in the subjects of life.
5. You will learn about history
If history is a main subject in school, it must be important to learn about right? Emphasize to your parents how much easier it will be to soak in your history lessons when you learn the information from the source. Make sure to mention the museums you will visit, the famous landmarks you will explore and the historical districts you will wander around. They can’t argue with education right?
6. You will open your eyes to different cultures
Who are they kidding? Your parents can’t deny how proud they will feel when you bring up your journey to Europe or Asia in front of the friends they want to impress. Being cultured these days is impressive and useful. Tell them about the music performances, the theater and the new cuisine that you will be trying in your proposed destination. Throw in a tid-bit here and there about the art and anthropology museum that you plan to visit while you’re there.
7. You can learn a new language
No parent ever got mad at their child for wanting to learn another language. Learn a few phrases of the local language and bust it out in front of your parents to prove your point. Explain to them how useful knowing Japanese or French will be on your resume and how you can use your new-found language skills to get you a job in the future.
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8. You will meet interesting people
When else will you have the opportunity to hang out with people from all over the world? The international community is waiting for you and if you never leave your home soil, you will be missing out on so many potential relationships. Things today are all about networking and what better opportunity than to meet people from different backgrounds and with different ideas that can help you form a career and your own life path.
9. You will return with a cultured palate
You love food, they love food, how could they deprive you of so many authentic and delicious dishes? They couldn’t. Tell them how you long to taste the gooey-fresh noodles of Italy, the spicy sauces from India and the salty pretzels of Bavarian beer gardens. You will grow a taste for international cuisine, perhaps take a cooking class and even bring back some recipes to share with them. Make sure to put some emphasis on the fact that you will cook them an authentic dish as soon as you get home.
10. You will have a better understanding of the world
They can’t keep you in a box forever, nor should they want to. Eventually you will leave the nest and your parents should want you to be prepared. Ask them for the chance to better understand the world before you have to take it on by yourself.
