Travel versus¹ college: the eternal debate rages on with no clear-cut winner. Faced with rising tuition costs and a less than satisfying job market, many would-be college students are ditching their knapsacks and textbooks for rucksacks and guidebooks. But is putting your future on hold for a year of travel the best idea?

去旅行还是读大学：对于这个问题，人们一直争执不休、不分胜负。面对不断上涨的高额学费和就业市场不甚乐观的前景，很多准大学生们都丢开书包、背上背包，选择去旅行。但是把未来放在一边，先去旅游一年，这到底是不是个好主意呢？

Although both sides have their merits, there are simply some things you'll never learn from scribbling² notes in a stuffy³ lecture hall. Struggling to choose between travel and college? Consider these six lessons travel teaches you that college never will:

尽管这两个选择都有各自的优点，但有些事情你永远都不会从乏味课堂里乱涂乱记的笔记中学会。正在纠结是去旅行还是读大学吗？考虑一下旅行教给你的这六堂人生课，这些是读大学永远也学不到的：

1) You are capable of more than you've ever imagined.

你的能力超乎你的想象。

No one can deny it: Travel is transformative. And I'm not talking about tired clichés like "how backpacking through Europe changed my life", but the ability of travel to affect a tangible⁴ and lasting⁵ impact on your life.

无人否认：旅行即革新。我说的不是那些陈词滥调：“遍游欧洲怎样改变了我的生活”，我要说的是旅行会对你的生活产生切实而持久的影响。

Travel can turn introverts⁶ into extroverts⁷, bring confidence to the meek⁸, and create adrenaline junkies out of thin air; it pushes your physical and mental limits, forcing you to quickly adapt to uncomfortable and unfamiliar⁹ situations.

旅游可以使性格内向的人变得外向，温顺的人增强信心，还能凭空激发出强烈激情，发掘你的身体极限和心理极限，迫使你快速适应不舒服和不熟悉的环境。

Want to see what you're truly made of? Travel.

想真正了解一下自己吗？那就去旅行。

2) People are fundamentally good.

人之初，性本善。

Whether you live in New York, Dubai or Karachi, human beings are driven by the same basic desires. We care for our family and friends. We seek to protect our loved ones. We strive to improve our lives day after day. Most importantly, we look out for one another.

无论你生活在纽约、迪拜或是卡拉奇，人类的基本欲望是相同的。我们关心家人和朋友，努力保护我们所爱的人，努力改善我们的生活，让日子过得越来越美好。最重要的是，我们照顾彼此。

Without experiencing the world for ourselves we often lose sight of that, relying instead on cheap stereotypes¹⁰ to guide our thinking. Travel reminds us that we are more bound by similarities than separated through differences.

我们不亲身体验这个世界的话，就会迷失自我，受廉价的思维定势影响。旅行提醒我们，我们对熟悉的环境亲近无比，而对陌生的环境拒之千里。

Good is stronger -- and more prevalent -- than evil. Get out there and see for yourself.

美好的力量比邪恶的力量强大，美好也比邪恶更普遍。走出去，自己亲身体验。

3) You are but a tiny blip on a giant radar¹¹.

你只是大雷达上波动着的一个小红点。

Our whole lives we're told were special. Starting at home, continuing into our school years, and even into college, parents, teachers, friends, and work colleagues all do their best to remind us just how important we are.

一生中，别人都会告诉我们，我们都是特别的。从家里开始，一直到我们多年的在校求学生活，甚至到了大学阶段，父母、老师、朋友和同事始终都在极力地提醒着我们，我们有多么的重要。

It can be painful at first, but travel will knock that right out of you. Travel humbles¹² you; it makes you truly realize just how small you are in this great big world.

旅行的最初阶段会感觉很痛苦，但旅行会让你重新认识自己。旅行使你变谦逊，使你真正意识到你在这个大大的世界上是多么的渺小。

You are a mere¹³ speck¹⁴ in an infinite universe. Accept it: You'll see it's not so bad.

你在一个无限宇宙中只是一个小斑点。接受它：你会发现并没那么糟糕。

4) Stereotypes are ridiculous.

思维定势很荒谬可笑。

Hollywood can really numb¹⁵ your common sense. If we believed everything we'd ever seen in the movies, we'd think all Russians are villains¹⁶, all American college kids are alcoholics¹⁷, and that all Australians do is hunt crocodiles and surf.

好莱坞真会让你的常识变麻木。如果我们认为电影里都是真的，那么所有的俄罗斯人都是坏人、美国大学的孩子都酗酒、所有的澳大利亚人都猎鳄鱼和冲浪。

Fortunately, travel clears your mind of (most of) that rubbish. Wander around a little and you'll discover that not all Germans are serious, not all Canadians are overly polite, and not all Swedish women are supermodels.

好在旅行会让你的头脑保持清醒，清理掉（大部分）垃圾。周游一下你会发现并不是所有德国人都严谨认真、并不是所有加拿大人都礼貌有加、并不是所有瑞典女性都是名模。

Well, maybe that last one's true.

嗯，也许最后一条是真的。

5) The world is not a dangerous place.

世界并不危险。

Turn on the news at any given moment: Reports about civil wars, armed struggles or terrorist attacks are never too far away. It's no wonder that announcing travel plans for places like Turkey, Israel or Indonesia can send loved ones into a panic. (I speak from experience.)

随时打开新闻：报道的内容总是内战、武装斗争、恐怖袭击。难怪一提出去土耳其、以色列或印尼的旅行计划，亲人就会陷入恐慌。（我说的都是我的亲身经历。）

Negative news sells, and without venturing beyond your backyard, it's easy to assume that chaos¹⁸ reigns¹⁹ as soon as you step out of your country's borders. Never do we hear those feel-good, heart-warming local news stories from around the world. They're out there. You just need to find them.

一系列负面新闻，再加上你不去后院外面活动，你自然会认为一旦跨出国界就会面临一个混乱的世界。我们从来不会在新闻报道中听到世界各地有那种给人感觉良好、温暖感动的地方和国家。这样的地方是有的，只是需要你自己去寻找。

6) One person can make a difference.

我们也可以不同凡响。

Grand gestures get all the attention. With philanthropists doling²⁰ out millions of dollars to charities, it's difficult to see how ordinary people like us can affect positive change.

做大事业吸引所有人的眼球。慈善家给慈善机构捐款数百万美元，像我们这样的普通人却很难看到我们能做出什么有影响力的作为。

Travel shows you the other side of the coin: how tiny gestures can add up to something truly meaningful. You'll see that don't need to save a whole village or solve all the world's problems to impact lives. Be the difference for one person at a time. Even the small can become mighty²¹.

旅行能为你展现出另一面：改变再小都是有真正意义的变化。你会发现无需拯救整个村庄或解决世界上所有的问题，就会对生活产生影响。一个人的变化即使再小也可以变得很强大。