Jennifer Poe, founder of Imported Chocolate

1. The Student

If you’re a student in a high school or university, you’re in a prefect position to discover travel opportunities. Speak with your school’s counselor about what study abroad programs are available. The right one will assist you with all the necessary paper work and include air transportation and housing in the tuition. Do you want to enrich your student travel status further? Well, how about some educational travel writing? It’s a new niche travel writing market that’s proving to be beneficial for student writers looking to broaden their horizon — with such top travel publications as Verge Magazine, Matador Travel and Student Traveler offering excellent travel writing opportunities to students. Want to learn more? Media Bistro has a wonderful article on educational travel writing that can be read here.

2. The 9 to Fiver

Save those vacation days! Try to take at least one to two weeks vacation. Plan your destination in advance and work out every detail. This will enable you to take full advantage of your precious weeks. I recommend picking a dream spot every year and saving through out the year towards your destination. That way, by the beginning of the following year, you will be ready to pack your bags and trip out. Ladies, if you can break Mr. Piggy for those shoes or extensions you’ve been lusting after, then you can certainly start putting some dollars back in Mr. Piggy towards your dream vacay. However, if money is a serious issue, you can always start small. Choose stateside destinations to begin your travel portfolio. Then, as you save more, plan trips to the Caribbean, then South America, then on to Europe. Keep going until you reach the end of the earth. The important thing is that you get out there and allow yourself to wonder. What’s that? You don’t have vacation days? Well, then maybe you should consider becoming a…..

3. The Nomad

Not a student? Don’t have a 9 to 5? Trying to figure out where you belong on this rotating orb? Sometimes the best way to discover who you are — and what you’re meant to do in this world — is to get lost. And we all know travel is the epitome of getting lost. With no attachments stringing you up like a marionette, you can go anywhere you want to go. How, you ask? The most popular way some traveler’s do this is by becoming certified to teach English abroad. There are plenty of good TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) programs you can become certified with. Check out this informative article from Matador Travel about the top 10 places for teaching English abroad https://bit.ly/dge6CA.

I once read a book (the title fails to return to my memory), in which the author describes working for six months, saving every dollar and then traveling for the remaining six months of the year. She would travel with a fellow wanderlust-stricken friend whom she called her “travel soul mate.” She would continue this cycle and allow herself to drift. I share this with you because I believe this may be an ideal way to travel for a true nomad, especially if you can’t afford to pay for a TESOL program.

4. The Activist

First, I want to thank you for existing. For being the kind of person that cares for humanity with an unyielding kindness — for making sacrifices others take for granted. You make our planet a better place and I give you my kudos. There are plenty of travel opportunities that exist for the budding activist. The US Peace Corps is one of those opportunities. It isn’t easy; the application process is fierce and can take up to a year. Once you get in there is a serious 27 month commitment, but with jobs like volunteer work at a public high school in an indigenous village — it makes the process all worthwhile for the activist. Do you dare to dream of change on a bigger scale? How about starting your own NGO? With a heart like yours — I believe you can do it! To learn what steps you need to take to bring your NGO to fruition, read this genius article from Matador Travel.

Now that you’re armed with this information it’s time to start preparing for your trip. Why are you still sitting at the computer. Go, Go, Go!

Jennifer Poe is the creator and owner of imported-chocolate.com, a travel website and brand promoting travel among women of color all over the world. She is hard at work on her memoirs about her experience living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She can also be found writing on her blog. She resides in Manhattan.