Definitely do it. You'll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life if you don't. I spent 3 months traveling, off of $7,000 I saved. When I left for my adventure in San Francisco, I headed east towards London on a way ticket with no plan...When I came back home I was still heading east, indicating I actually, literally went around the world.
I went to London, bought a cheap ticket to Santander, Spain and hung out in Spain for a while...Went to Portugal for a while, Got another cheap flight to Eindhoven (Netherlands) went to Amsterdam, took a train to Paris, then back to London. Found another cheap flight to Hamburg, Germany, Stayed there for a few days, Flew to Antayla, Turkey, took a bus to Istanbul, Flew to Tanzania, with a long layover in Egypt during their revolution...Enough time to get out and go touch the Pyramids and see the revolution area with all the people... Spent two weeks in Tanzania, went on a safari and saw wild lions, got ROBBED, went back to Istanbul and asked my parents for $200 to finish my trip..Caught my flight (Prebooked) to Bangkok, Decided to cancel my flight to Australia and use it to go back to San Francisco to end my trip...Spent the last two weeks hanging out on the warm tropical beaches in Thailand :D
Even though it was only 3 months, it felt like a lifetime. Each part of my trip felt like a different time in my life, even though I was in turkey for a total of like 2 weeks I thought of it like "My Turkish days". It's so emotional traveling by yourself and all the friends that you make so quickly, and leave so quickly. The freedom of just going wherever you want, sleeping in, staying out late, not working.. Gosh I really loved it! And at times, hated it. Like those nghts I get lost in a sketchy neighborhood with all my belongings on my back.
When I got back to the states it was so crazy because everything was just how I left it, however I could all of a sudden see all the things that are so American. Everything from the culture to the road signs and the food. All of my friends now seemed like Americans and it just seemed so surreal to me.
Anyways I could wright about it forever but I really liked it and while I wasn't "enlightened" like hispsters will tell you, I really felt like I learned a lot about other countries but mostly MY country, just because for once in my entire life, for the first time I wasn't there for three months, and you forget what America is like just because it's all that you know and grew up with.