As a child, I didn’t travel much. The furthest my family and I would go is about two hours outside of our home to our cousins home for the holidays. Although I kept magazine cutouts of the places I would love to visit as a young girl, I never got the chance. Over the years I grew up and imagined myself being in the places that I saw in the pictures, from there I created my bucket list!
In my personal opinion, I believe that every woman should create a bucket list and circle at least three places that she’d like to visit solo! My first plane ride was to New York which is where I was born. Upon arriving I remember feeling anxious, afraid, and excited all at the same time. Not only because this would be my first time visiting as an adult but because it was my first time traveling, alone.
However, something happened that very first time that changed my life forever, a mindset shift that would allow me to experience the world with new eyes, new ears, and new understanding. After my first plane ride, I fell in love with the feeling of floating on air.
My second plane ride was to Miami, Florida and my third was to Chicago, Illinois. From then on I began traveling at least once a year to free my mind and to feel the freedom of floating on air. My first time moving away from the only town that I ever knew as home was scary but so worth it. I was 23 and this couldn’t have come at a better time. When I moved away I began to meet people with a different cultural background, some spoke different languages and some had professions that I’d never even heard of. Being in a diverse, deeply cultured city helped me to open my mind to the possibilities of what life has to offer.
Traveling saved my sanity because at 23 years young I was lost, depressed, looking for myself and trying to battle every ounce of self-doubt. At that point in my life, I was willing to try anything else than what I had been currently doing and this was my opportunity for better, so I took it!
Looking back, I only wish I would’ve started sooner! There’s so much to learn about yourself, others and the world when you get outside of your comfort zone. There’s so much to experience, to overcome and to keep for memories! Here are four of my major takeaways from my journey of traveling!
1. Ensures Peace of Mind: We all have stress and tension in our lives. Traveling helps us to temporarily disconnect from our normal routine and offers a change of scenery which helps us to appreciate those closest to us as well as give our minds a fresh perspective.
2. Get Clear, Original and Creative Thoughts: As a creative, seeing different people, places and culture help me to delve into my creativity. Being in a place that is not familiar helps to broaden my horizons and think outside the box.
3. Enhances Your Tolerance for Uncertainty; While traveling, you may run into situations that weren’t originally a part of the plan. You may get lost or luggage may arrive later than expected. These situations help us to cope with the everyday uncertainties of life.
4. You get to know yourself; Traveling whether alone or with family and friends allows you to get to know another side of yourself. You may get stuck and not know where you are. In this situation, you will learn just how resourceful and creative you truly are. Also being in a different state or country could definitely remove you from your comfort zone, forcing you to dig deeper inside yourself to enjoy the space around you. This can be a pivotal moment, proving to yourself that you can do anything, be who you want to be and travel anywhere in the world.
Traveling saved my sanity because it allowed me to see me in my fullest and rarest form! Helping me to remove all limits from my mind, body, and soul!
