As a native of Egypt, Hussain al Nowais has a unique perspective of the world. His family moved to the United States in 2006 when he was 12 years old, so he does remember life in Egypt. Now Hussain al Nowais is a college student at Penn, and although he does love the City of Brotherly Love, he decided to take one year abroad and study in Australia. He credits this as one of the best decisions he has ever made. With that in mind, here are five reasons why you should study aboard according to Hussain al Nowais:

You’ll Never Be as Free to Live Abroad until You Retire: Let’s face it: life gets in the way. Think about another time in your life when you’ll have as few responsibilities that will tie you down to a specific location. You most likely do not have a wife or children whom you’re responsible for; you probably don’t have a job that matters too much. These things make travel later on extremely tough. Take advantage of this freedom while you can.

You Will Never Be More Energetic: Jumping on that first point, you can’t get back youth. When you’re in your teens and twenties, you’re in the best shape of your life. You’ll have the most energy and ability to recover. Now is the time to fully get the most out of your time abroad.

It Looks Better on the Resume: We’re becoming more of a global economy each day. Company recruiters are looking for candidates who have experience living outside of our country and who are ready and willing to step outside of their comfort zones. Studying abroad might force you to learn a second language, which also looks good on the resume.

It’ll Make You a Better Person: Living in the same place for a number of years will make you static. You’ll be dealing with the same people and the same situations over and over again. Living abroad allows you to experience a different way of life, which could help you become a more rounded person.

You’ll Have a Lifetime’s Worth of Memories: When people travel, how often do they often get to stay in a place…a week, two weeks? Studying abroad for a semester or even a year allows you get fully immersed in the culture and see much more than the tourist would be able to. The memories and friends you’ll make in your time there will be worth it on their own.