I didn’t know I would love travelling as much as I do now. My first trip abroad was in my mid-20s after saving up to explore the world, so to speak. The year was 2016. Destination Thailand. Jetted and waited 3 hours on the wrong visa line after reaching the destination. Embarrassed for me? That was an unforgettable lesson on not being embarrassed for not knowing a few things and simply ask for help.

Let me walk you down the memory lane. So my dearest friend B and I planned our first trip abroad. You see we were adults, making money, fewer responsibilities, married and outside of parents’ permission. We made a pact about travelling every year and have managed to keep up. Anyhoo, we decided on Thailand because of the budget (obviously) and the beaches. I don’t want to bore you with all the sites we saw but dive into what travelling does to a person.

Anyone will say it gives you exposure, helps you see the world, to take inspiration or  feel gratitude. Perhaps it even allows you to see yourself and others in a different light, but I want to talk about what happens to your mind and other things which you may not have thought about.

a) you unlearn: This is huge. Our environment heavily influences all of us. We believe the right way to live is by seeing how our parents raised us and what society decides as amicable and respectful. We bury the inner voice of frustration and trepidation whenever we feel something is off. We don’t quite question it because we are either timid or not determined to change the way the world works. However, the more you grow older those voices cannot be buried. They start roaring and you either have to listen to what it says and change yourself or barter your authenticity with a pretentious life. What travelling does is, it fuels your senses through experience so you do not have to combat feelings but gives you the grace to allow yourself to choose your path without a doubt. It empowers you to follow your heart. It’s an invisible process.

b) you learn: This has to be everybody’s experience whether one travels or not. Learning should be a lifelong activity and should not be curtailed by place, people or age. However, we all fall back into our comfort zones and stop learning. When you travel, you learn through all your senses. Sight, sound, touch, smell, taste which fills you up. It may sound theatrical, but if you are intentional about your growth as a person, then you should not be signing up for online classes instead book a ticket and start travelling, it will change your life.

c) you relearn: This is advancement. You don’t wear the clothes you wore as a child, do you? Why, because they don’t fit and even if it does, it may not be with the times. Similarly, relearning is as important as the earlier two points. It’s about building on what you already know. We can’t always go through life with surface knowledge, we need in-depth learning, such is life and its mysteries. You ask how travelling can help with that. Well, travelling should not always be bucketed as a leisure activity. It should be done as an opportunity to prepare yourself for the life ahead.

Don’t overthink. Commit to personal growth through travelling, its everything you need. We are made to travel.

Psst. I am cognizant that my writing can come across as too specific and seemingly vague for some readers, I apologize if that was your reading experience. Drop a comment if you enjoyed this post and let me know some of the ways you have benefitted through travelling.