It’s no secret, and no surprise (at least, I hope not), that traveling the world is one of the best ways to learn. No textbook can compare to the sights, smells, noises or tastes you experience. While traveling the world, I’ve undoubtedly learned a great deal about new cultures, new people, new places and new things. I’ve also learned a lot about myself, my capabilities and what I truly need to be happy.
5. I’m Not Always in Control, and That’s Okay
As we grow up (I’m using that term loosely), we learn how to be independent. We learn how to care for ourselves, how to acquire our necessities and what steps it takes to get to where we need to be. Then I found myself in a foreign country – where I don’t speak the language – getting thrown off a bus at 5am, with twenty other people, in an alleyway of a city that I didn’t want to be in. It happens. Some things are out of my control, and that’s okay. As long as I’m not in any danger, who cares if it takes me an extra day to get to my destination?
You are constantly getting thrown into new and exciting situations while traveling the world. Embrace it! I now welcome these mishaps with open arms because it throws me out of my comfort zone, and they truly make the best stories.
4. Living Out of My Comfort Zone is the Best Way to Grow
In any situation, the best way to discover your capabilities and build confidence is to buy a one way ticket out of your comfort zone. The greatest discoveries in this world (or better yet, out of this world) weren’t found in a comfort zone. I find that when I push myself to do things that make the palms of my hands a little sweaty, I always come out a stronger and more knowledgeable person. Being too comfortable prevents me from venturing into the unknown and annihilates my productivity. When I hover just outside of my comfort zone, like when I took my very first solo trip, that’s when great things happen.
3. Talk to Strangers (Sorry Mom)
There’s no better way to find out what the best surf spots are, where the most secluded beaches, who has the best dinner in town or what the cheapest way to the next village is than to ask a local, or a fellow traveler. The people around me are my resources. If you pick a local’s brain, you’ll be able to get to the less touristy spots, and they might even take you there themselves.
Even if the person I’m talking to and I don’t speak the same language, a little game of charades (and maybe a little help from Google Maps or Google Translate) can usually get the conversation going. I’ve been given a private tour of waterfalls in Cambodia, cooked a personal Thai meal with an ancient family recipe and taken on a boat tour to a secret island where most tourist never get to go just by talking to the people around me and asking questions.
2. I Don’t Need Much To Be Happy
I’ve never been a materialistic person. I have never needed the biggest, newest or best things to be happy; but, traveling the world has shown me just how little I actually need.
I’ve met families that live in a wooden hut the same size of my parent’s kitchen (which is, by no means, a large kitchen). I could see daylight through the gaps, between the uneven planks, while sitting in the only room of the house. Depending on the time of day, that room might be a kitchen, a living room or a bedroom that sleeps all six members of the household. The children kept themselves entertained with what they could find around them; rocks, sticks or even trash. To most, their living situation would be shocking, and something to pity, but they are happy. They have each other. They have humor and they have appreciation of the little things. And most importantly, they SMILE.
I can live years out of my backpack, as long and I’m where I want to be, surrounded by good company. I’ve traded materials for experiences, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
1. The Environment Needs Us
This is, indisputably, the most important thing I have learned. I’ve seen the ocean waves of plastic in Indonesia. I’ve been diving amongst trash in Vietnam. My eyes have seen the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve been around people and animals fighting dehydration and starvation in unbearable heat. The environment can’t heal itself. The plastic isn’t going to go away on it’s own. Our rising temperatures are not a “normal cycle the earth goes through”. Please make a conscious effort, with me, to reduce our carbon footprint and save our planet.
