After I finished high school I went to Hong Kong and Thailand and spent some time there. Just to get that whol... — Shay Mitchell

After I finished high school I went to Hong Kong and Thailand and spent some time there. Just to get that whole experience of being out of the bubble that I was in from high school in Vancouver, to be able to travel around and be on your own was an amazing experience.

Author: Shay Mitchell

Insight: There's something powerful about the moment you realize the world is bigger than your immediate surroundings. High school can feel like the entire universe—your town, your school, your friend group become the default setting you assume everyone lives in. Then you step outside it, and suddenly all those assumed rules and normal ways of doing things look arbitrary. Travel does that peculiar thing where it doesn't just show you different places; it shows you different versions of yourself you didn't know existed. What Shay Mitchell is pointing to here goes beyond typical "gap year" advice. It's about the specific vulnerability of traveling alone in a new place—where you can't rely on old friendships to define you or familiar routines to prop you up. You have to figure out who you are without the scaffolding of your regular life. That's uncomfortable, sure, but it's also where real confidence gets built. You learn you can navigate confusion, make decisions on your own terms, and handle whatever comes up. The part we sometimes miss: you don't need to go to Thailand to get this. Anywhere far enough from your bubble works. It could be a city three hours away or a university you weren't planning on. The key is distance enough that the old scripts stop working and you have to improvise.