I urge you to travel.
Pack light and get out of your comfort zone. It will change you and open your mind. You will learn about other cultures and learn to adapt and be part of it. You will feel over the moon and then there will be times that you will feel alone and lost. You will grow as a person, you will learn to love spending time by yourself, you will find yourself wandering around new cities, trying to communicate with people who do not speak your language and you will try new food (mostly really, really good food that you will crave once you’re back home…).
You will find places that will take your breath away and make you speechless. Some might become your happy place and you will find yourself going back there over and over again. Places will feel like home.
But most of all, and to me that is the most magical part of traveling, you will find people that will turn into life-long friends within minutes or hours of knowing each other. These will be the ones you will share those unforgettable experiences with, the ones you laugh with until your stomach hurts, the ones that make traveling even more exciting and fun.
People will feel like home.
Traveling opens your eyes, it can shock you but it also shows you how generous and kind people are. You’ll have bad days and might question if leaving was the right decision, but in the end, the days you’ll spend laughing and feeling so lucky to see the world will make up for everything and you will wonder why you ever had doubts.
But to warn you: Coming home is not easy. It is exciting. It is overwhelming to see your family and friends again after a long time of being away exploring the world. But it is also scary and you will feel lost, being back in the town you left to see other parts of this planet. You will realize not much has changed and you will struggle to answer all the questions, to explain what you have experienced or how you’ve felt. It is just impossible… You will find yourself wondering when and where you will go next…it is an addiction.
Each travel experience is unique, so I urge you to travel and go your own way. I urge you to see the world, go on adventures, make friends from all kind of different countries, get to know new and different cultures and please, never ever stop exploring!
Featured image – Flickr user Master Octa
