Many people say that they like to travel. Every now and then I will try to ask them, why do you like to travel? What is it that you are looking for when you are travelling? Some people might say that they want to see beautiful spots, some people say they want to meet new people, some might say that they want to discover the world (what does that exactly mean anyway?).
For me, just simply seeing touristic spots don’t give me substantial satisfaction any more (there are of course astounding scenes which blow your mind, like climbing somewhere to the top and enjoy the view, example would be arthur’s seat in Edinburgh), in the end, most things will look like the pictures you can find on the internet. For me, what really changes the experience are the people. They might be locals, they might be fellow backpackers, they might even be tour guides. By observing them, or by having a conversation with them, or by listening to their stories, or by doing things together, all these activities reveal interesting things about what they think is the right thing, how they behave, what kind of attitudes they have and so on, and so on. And then, with what you see, they will clash into your own and this where the thinking begins. Sometimes it let’s you question your own belief, sometimes if gives a full other perspective, sometimes it strengthens your belief. And this, is something that you won’t experience normally. Of course, through work, relationship, or friendship, these can happen too but during travelling, this happens at a quicker pace (at least I would imagine, not that i have done a lot of travelling)
With all what has happened in 2017, I feel a little bit lost. Half of the things made me really happy, half of the things made me feel really sad. When I am really happy, I don’t really convey anything, I am rather enjoying it. Maybe there is my happy face, but how can you let other know that you are happy and you actually appreciate the moments that you are experiencing? Being a reserved person doesn’t always mean you should not say much. Sometimes it is very important that you speak about your true feelings. This goes for sadness as well. And this will be something that I need to practice during my travels.
Also when everything seemed to be lost, I asked myself what is it that you want to do? We should all live a happy life and do things that we enjoy. I am trying to understand what is it that I really like to do? What do I actually enjoy? What are the basic things that I believe in? When do I need to hold my ground and fight for things that I believe in? There are somehow so many fundamental questions unanswered. And they need to be answered before travel and during the travel.
