As most of you know, and unfortunately for me, my journey around Europe has come to an end. Getting on a plane bound for New York was bittersweet to say the least. After spending three months away from my family, friends and essentially my entire life I was excited to get back home. But at the same time I felt as though I was leaving behind a new family, new friends and a new life that I created for myself.The eight hour flight back home gave me plenty of time to reflect on my three months abroad. I kept getting flashbacks of good memories, bad memories, amazing people that I met, not so amazing people that I met. My trip had its highs and lows, good times and bad times but I quickly realized just how much each and every experience impacted my life. I’m not going get all “Eat, Pray, Love” on you and go into deep detail about how I’m a new person and all that jazz but I will say whole heartedly that travel changed me. It changed my attitude, my mindset and my perspective on life. It opened my mind and broadened my horizons. Traveling the world went from being something I only dreamt about to a reality and then it turned into a passion. And I have a feeling this is just the beginning =)
What Travelling Taught Me
1. Travelling Taught Me to Enjoy the Journey
This is a big one for me. The people that know me the best know that I am a planner and I’m always looking ahead. This isn’t a completely terrible quality to have, but when you’re always looking forward to the future, you forget to enjoy the present. Although I found some of the teachings at the Buddhist Center to be a little wacky, I did learn one important lesson there. Buddhist’s believe that one problem humans have is that we are always looking for the next thing that’s going to make us happy. “When I get a promotion,” “When I’m making more money,” “When I’m done with school,” “If I had nicer car..” The problem is that when we do get these things, we still aren’t happy. We always want more. I started to notice this trend in my own life. It started with, “I’ll be happy when I get to Ireland.” Then it was, “I’ll be happier when I’m backpacking around Europe.” And then, “I’ll be really happy when I’m back home.” And now it’s “Get me out of here and back on the road!” It’s a great thing to be excited for something in your life – that means you’ve set goals for yourself but we have to enjoy the journey that brings us to those goals. Because that journey is life. And we only get to do it once.
2. Travelling Taught Me About Passion
Yes, I used the “P” word. It’s that thing everyone wants to discover but doesn’t know how. Well at least I didn’t anyway. While I was travelling I read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. The following quote stuck out to me and I haven’t been able to forget it since:
“What is a personal calling? It is God’s blessing, it is the path God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend.”
When I first left for my trip I thought this whole desire to see the world thing was just a temporary case of the travel bug. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Travel, to me, is a passion. I personally found that I was the happiest I have ever been when I was traveling - being on the road, talking to strangers, befriending the person on the top bunk at my hostel, wandering around uncharted territory, getting lost in new cities, eating exotic food, staring at this beautiful world from my train window, flying over oceans, learning new languages, talking to other wanderlusters about all of the places they’ve been and all of the places I want to go. These are the things that get my heart racing and the things I find myself daydreaming about. It may not be practical and it may not be what most other 25 year olds are doing at this point in their life but I plan to pursue this passion for as long as I live.
3. Travel Taught Me What Really Matters
When I boarded the plane headed for Ireland on September 5th I had 3 pairs of pants, a few sweaters, some hygiene products, some books and my laptop. A lot of people that I met on the road were actually surprised with how little I had. Although I will say mixing and matching my small wardrobe got very boring, I was perfectly content with what I had. My laptop allowed me to start my blog and discover my love for writing. It also allowed me to keep in touch with the people I love at home. My clothes kept me warm (until I got to Switzerland….) and my hygiene products kept me clean (I think). I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that when I was put in a position where I didn’t have much, I didn’t feel the need for more. I was doing what I love – traveling. The important people in my life made it a point to be a part of my life, even though they were 1000’s of miles away. I was healthy, I was safe and I was happy. Honestly, what more could I possibly want?
This post has been in the making for almost a month now. I started it on my return flight and I keep coming back to it – editing and attempting to put these three amazing, life-changing months into words. Then I realized how impossible this would be. As much as I want to paint you all a picture of how beautiful the Irish countryside is or how breathtaking it was to see the Coliseum at sunset, I just don’t think my simple words or pictures will ever do a justice. With that being said, please take note that I will still show anyone and everyone my pictures and tell my stories until you rudely tell me to shut my mouth =)
Sometimes when I look back at the past few months I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. But I don’t think I believe in luck. The only thing that turned my dream into reality was hard work, determination and all the love I found along the way. I want to thank EVERYONE who took time to read my blog. It really means the world to me. I hope I kept you all interested enough to continue reading because The Journey of a Solo Wanderer doesn’t end here! In June I will be getting back on the road for a couple of months. This time I will be heading to Southeast Asia with my best friend! I plan to blog about my adventures in between now and June as well so stay tuned =)
