How Traveling Helped Me Grow
As May and Mental Health Awareness Month draw to a close, I felt like it was a good time to reflect on my personal mental health journey. With everything going on currently and COVID-19, quarantine has certainly been a tough time. It’s been hard being alone with my thoughts and feelings about the world.
I’ve challenged myself to embrace the quiet of my home. To engage and keep up with current events but to also put away my phone and really practice and find calmness and mental quiet amidst the chaos. Practicing meditation has helped increase my awareness of the world but also of myself.
Recent events, and during Mental Health Awareness Month too, make me recall the times in my life where I have struggled with anxiety and depression. Dealing with mental health struggles has been an ongoing process, one that traveling has really helped me with. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the experiences that have helped my mental health and really appreciating that I had the opportunity to have those life-changing moments. Now seems like just the time to take stock of the many opportunities I’ve been blessed with, to reflect on the impact these experiences have had on me, and to continue making progress with working on myself.
Before I traveled alone, I never would’ve imagined joining a group of strangers for a two week bus tour of Europe or waking up at 4 A.M. to explore the Icelandic countryside without complaining. Trying foods with names I couldn’t pronounce or wandering around a city without directions with no plan for the day. Taking overnight buses alone in countries I didn’t know the language in or shamelessly asking strangers to take a picture of me at special places. Exploring a city by myself.
Maybe it was because traveling cost money or maybe it was because I wanted to make the most of each unique experience. Whatever the reason, I somehow managed to step outside my comfort zone when I began to travel by myself. And I found myself capable of things I never thought I could do.
I hiked mountains and trekked jungles. I ate meals and spent days alone. I dealt with issues as they arose - language barriers, transportation issues - and made the best of less than ideal situations. I remember arriving to the smallest airport in Rome at 1 am after a 22-hour bus ride from Croatia, only to find that the airport was completely closed from the hours of midnight - 5 A.M.
One time my flight to Budapest, Hungary got derailed because of snow and I landed in Bratislava, Slovakia. After hours of being stranded at the airport with no food, I decided to join other travelers trying to get a large enough group to split the two-hour Uber across the border. We communicated with the deaf driver via a translation app and I finished up my architecture project in the backseat in the car. I finally arrived the hostel in Budapest at 4 A.M, woke up my friend to tell her I got here safely, and slept 4 hours until we started exploring the city.
I can remember so many situations that I never thought I would be comfortable with or willingly put myself in. I not only grew immensely from traveling, but learned so much about what I was capable of. I became truly comfortable with myself for the first time and much happier. I was bold and adventurous, more spontaneous and flexible, and more social. I became less worried about what others thought of me and more comfortable when I had to be by myself. I was less grumpy and complained less, and could better handle when things weren’t perfect. I was less angry when things didn’t work out the way I expected and tried to not have expectations. I wanted to try new things and meet new people. I wasn’t as stressed and anxious in new environments or around people I didn’t know. I discovered the meaning of true friendship and loved myself more because I learned that genuine connections were out there and worth looking for.
The different characters and colors of places I visited showed me it’s okay to not fit in — in fact, it’s more interesting when you don’t! Wandering around cities without a plan for once, I finally embraced two ideas I had always struggled to believe: the journey matters just as much as the destination and there’s no one way to get to where you’re going. I realized keeping your mind busy is just as important as relaxing and slowing down, and that’s why my favorite countries have a mix of bustling cities and beautiful nature.
These are things I learned about life and myself while traveling, but that doesn’t mean they don’t translate to daily life. I’ve tried to import my lessons abroad back home, so to speak, and really practice and embrace these insights. I found my best self traveling and learned self-acceptance and self-love.
I choose to focus on happiness, love, and joy. To know that being independent doesn’t mean you’re alone. That there is magic in little moments and a spark within all of us, just waiting to be ignited.