Picture this: It’s New Year’s Day, 2025, and you’ve found a few minutes for an aimless scroll. You can practically smell the sizzling street food in that Kyoto reel, hear the birds squawking in your friend’s photo of a trek through the Amazon, and imagine the laughter and chatter in a story showing friends gathered at Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sun set over Florence. 

It hits you then. 2025 is your year. This is the year you become the main character in an adventure of your own. It’s not a fleeting resolution that will fade in a few weeks, but a goal—a bold, exciting goal that is, believe it or not, entirely within reach.

If that feels like you, then read on; we’ve put together some of our own travel intentions for the year ahead, and we hope they’ll inspire you to dream big and make them your own.

CELEBRATE THE LOCAL—WHEREVER YOU ARE.

Kyle Simmons, EdOdyssey’s Director of Institutional Partnerships, shared that his intention for 2025 is to, “Explore more of my own country starting with some day trips and weekend getaways across the southeast.” 

Exploring closer to home with a travel mindset can bolster your confidence before you get ready for a longer semester trip abroad. Imagine a quiet morning walk along the cobblestone streets of a hidden coastal town or stumbling on a restaurant with the most delicious authentic gumbo while visiting New Orleans. Plan visits to nearby towns, maybe lesser-known places, or to a city you’ve always been curious about. Take a friend and make it an adventure. Attend a local festival. Eat regional foods. Seek out hidden gems that help you get to know a place below its surface. Trigger your inner travel bug!

ENGAGE AUTHENTICALLY WITH COMMUNITIES. 

Sarah Reid, EdOdyssey’s Director of Program Operations, expressed that she will go into 2025 reflecting on the importance and positive impact international education has on the world. “I also intend to make more connections with people here in Japan and to participate as a community member in my neighborhood,” she shared.

There are many ways to become part of a host community when you study abroad, and as a study abroad provider, helping you do this is one of our goals. We set up opportunities for you to connect with and learn from the local community, whether that’s living with a host family in Peru, participating in an internship with an Italian business in Florence, or setting you up with a “Japanese buddy” that will help ease your transition into life in Fukuoka. Included excursions and activities will also help you feel connected, as will getting involved in student life at your host university and going about your daily life—having small conversations with baristas or nodding good morning to someone you pass every day on your walk to class. 

TRAVEL WITH CURIOSITY, NOT (JUST) WITH A CHECKLIST.

EdOdyssey’s President and Founder Peter McGovern shared his intention to, “stay present and curious, embracing lessons from the places I go and the people I meet, whether at home or wherever my travels take me.” 

Sometimes the best adventures and most memorable experiences happen when we follow our curiosity, keep an open mind, and embrace serendipity. Maybe you’re rushing off to see the Duomo when the music of a street performer captures your attention. Slow down and stay a while. Enjoy the moment. Practice truly listening, and learning from, the people who you talk to when you travel, whether that’s a tour guide taking you through the ruins of Huaca Pucllana in Peru, another student in one of your classes, or a vendor at a market stall. Take in the suggestions of locals and veer away from your bucket list to follow their expertise. Notice the little things that are different in your host city or on side trips. Look at the way people live and interact with one another, the importance they give to community and relationships. Listen to their thoughts and beliefs. Notice things that you could take away and apply to your own life to make it better.

TRAVEL AS SUSTAINABLY AND MINDFULLY AS POSSIBLE. 

Our choices as travelers have an impact. Stefano Parenti, EdOdyssey’s Senior Program Director in Italy, plans to create some new experiences for students that are “strongly and authentically linked to local culture and heritage.” 

When we travel, we can support local businesses. We can shop in markets and buy food that has been grown in fields nearby. We can make every effort to treat our host environment with the utmost respect, leaving no trace and taking nothing away. We can opt for trains instead of planes for break weeks, walk instead of calling an Uber after a night out. We can set an intention to ensure our actions are environmentally friendly and socially responsible. We can travel mindfully, always. 

TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON EXPERIENCES. 

In addition to Sarah’s intention to engage with her community, she said, “I also want to remain available to family and friends as a reliable source of information for how they can engage with the world in a positive way and make their own connections.”

To be a source of information for others, we must take time to consider what our experiences are teaching us about ourselves, each other, and our wider world. Not everyone will be able to travel internationally, but when you can, you develop a unique perspective that may be beneficial to share when you tell stories of your trip to friends and family back home. So take time to sit down with a journal, or your phone notes, or a vlog, or, if you feel so inclined, with a sketchpad. Put your experiences, thoughts and reflections on paper before they fade away. Through your efforts, you’ll truly understand the impact that travel has had on you and how it has played a role in shaping your perspectives. The way travel has changed you won’t go unnoticed by those back home.

USE TRAVEL AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE. 

While detailing his intentions for 2025, Stefano also noted that he envisions EdOdyssey students returning home with “enriched perspectives and lifestyle, to make a positive impact.”

And he’s right. Study abroad is about personal growth, but also about bringing certain observations and lessons home. It’s about next steps, about considering how your experiences can inspire change in your own community or guide your future career goals. Maybe you returned inspired by your host country’s approach to sustainability, or spent time volunteering while abroad and now want to continue to do so back home. Whether you find yourself advocating for global issues, connecting with exchange students at your home university to help them settle in, or encouraging your loved ones to slow down and enjoy life a little more, the impact of travel doesn’t end when you board your flight home. 

SEE YOU IN 2025?

We know that travel is one of life’s greatest privileges. If it’s something you’d love to do but aren’t quite sure how to make it happen, reach out for a conversation. And as you step into this new year, think about how you might shape your own life with intentions to make it more meaningful—especially if you are planning to spend a semester abroad. 

Here’s to a year of thoughtful exploration and unforgettable adventures! 

We hope to see you in our DMs at @edodyssey, or you can contact us on our website any time: