5 Lessons I Learned From Travelling
Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent a great
deal of time on self-reflection and reminiscing on good memories, namely whilst
travelling. Everyone always says that travelling is a life-changing experience
which alters the way you perceive the world. Having done a fair bit of
travelling within the last year, I would say that whilst I do agree with this
statement, I believe that the changes are more subtle than I had apprehended.
In this post, I’m going to share some personal lessons travelling taught me and
how it altered the way I perceive my world.
Last Summer, I went interrailing around Europe
for a month with a friend, and I recently spent a couple of months solo in
Germany and Holland. Each of these experiences were unique and eye-opening in
their own ways. The main reason I really enjoy travelling is because I love
meeting new people from different walks of life and getting out of my comfort
zone. I particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to put my language skills
into practise whilst I was Germany. While I definitely appreciate the cultural
side of travelling and learning about the history of a region, I found that the
people I met, as opposed to the place itself, is what impacted me
the most.
Lesson One – The
difference in maturity a few years can have
Whilst I was working as an Au Pair in Göttingen,
I met up with a group of people every Sunday morning through Couchsurfing
to go hiking and for a coffee. For anyone who doesn’t know, Göttingen is a
relatively small university town in Germany. Majority of the population is made
up of the students, so most of the people I socialised with were students on
Erasmus/Masters programmes and lecturers in their early 20s – late 30s. With
only a 5-year age gap between myself and the next youngest person in the group,
I was amazed by the huge influence a few years can have on a person’s maturity
and life experience. I think that at 18, 23 doesn’t sound that far off and I thought
I already knew a lot about the world, but it turns out I don’t! Socialising
with older people definitely helped me mature and I loved having some really in-depth
and interesting conversations about current affairs and the world.
As strange as it sounds, it opened my eyes to
how much I don’t know and reminded me that I’m going to change so much
as a person over the next few years. I’m certainly not the same person I was at
13 years old, and I know that at 23 years old I’ll be looking back at my
present self and thinking exactly the same thing. Most importantly, I realised
how imperative it is to surround myself with people who have good morals and
values as they will ultimately shape me into the person I become.
Lesson Two – Travelling
makes you much more open-minded to new people and experiences
Having lived abroad as a kid, I naturally
presumed I was a pretty spontaneous and open-minded person already. Through
travelling, I’ve learned to be even more inclined to say ‘yes’ to new
opportunities and to socialise with a variety of people in different settings.
Whilst I was in Göttingen, I met loads of international students from every
continent on the planet who shared their stories about their home countries and
views on the world. It broadened my awareness of people’s various ways of life
and backgrounds and made me appreciate things in my life that I may take for
granted simply because it’s the norm for me. By pushing myself to go to events
and meetups, I met so many incredible people and created brilliant memories.
Now, more than ever, I jump at the opportunity for an experience or to meet new
people, as I know how much I could have missed out on had I not simply pushed
myself out of my comfort zone. Though I’ve never been a particularly fussy
eater, (strangely enough!) even my taste buds have changed as I did my best to
try out different foods and fully immerse myself in the culture.
Being abroad and meeting so many people in such
a short space of time emphasised to me just how many different people there are
in the world. Every individual is unique, and I’ve realised that no matter who
you are or what you do, it’s impossible to please everyone. I’m sure we’ve all
heard the phrase “don’t take things so personally” and it’s one of those things
that I didn’t really understand until travelling. If someone said this to me, I
used to automatically think of course I’m going to take it personally if
he/she has been rude to me! I’ve now realised that it means accepting that
some people just are a certain way and that you can’t change others, but you
can change the way you react to situations. This might seem like a
blatantly obvious thing to only have noticed in another country. Granted, it
was the fresh perspective and being away from the situation that made me
realise this more than travelling in itself.
Of course, no one is independent of the
circumstances around them and we can’t control the curveballs that life throws
at us. However, I’ve realised that if I get upset by what someone says or does
to me, I should accept that sometimes it might just be because that’s the way
that they are. They might not even necessarily know that what they’ve done has
affected me, so there’s no point in reacting to the situation. Likewise, instead
of allowing myself to get affected by situations I’m not happy with, I should
remind myself that I can still choose how I respond to it. We’ve all
heard the famous saying life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how you react
to it, and I really resonate with this on a deep level. No matter what the
circumstance, who the person or what happens, the only thing I can control is
how I interpret and respond to it.
Lesson Four – Small
gestures go a long way
Where I live back home, it’s pretty much the
norm to pass someone in the streets without any acknowledgment. Everyone seems
to be so busy going about their day-to-day lives in their individual bubbles
and I find myself ignoring strangers in the street. Whilst I was abroad,
particularly in more rural areas, I noticed that people tended to be a lot more
friendly on the streets, cafés and restaurants. There was definitely more of a
community feel and I appreciated having these small, kind interactions rather
than feeling like everyone had a barrier between themselves in the world.
I had a conversation with a girl I met about
this and we both said how bizarre it was that in certain parts of the world,
you’d actually be perceived as weird if you passed a stranger in the street and
said good morning. Imagine walking down Oxford Street and saying ‘hi’ to every
person you passed- you’d certainly get some strange looks back! Well,
fortunately I don’t live in London, so it’s not seen as that weird to
greet a stranger in the streets in my area. Now that I’m back home, I won’t
hesitate to say ‘hi’ to someone in the street or smile at a stranger. Even if
it’s not reciprocated, it still makes me feel good and connected to the outside
world.
Lesson Five – The simple
things in life make me happy
Travelling on a low budget helped me realise
how the things which come for free or at a low cost in life are actually the
things which make me happiest. I definitely value experiences over materialistic
things, as they are how my best memories are created. I’ve realised how much I
value being connected with nature and having conversations with my friends. When
I reminisce on being abroad, I think of swimming in the River Aare, having deep
meaningful chats over Kirschtorte in German cafés and watching the
sunset on an Italian balcony. I think of ice skating in Göttingen, cooking
pasta for the hundredth time in hostels and standing at the crater of an active
volcano. Ultimately, it’s the connections I made and wholesome experiences
which I value, and I’d rather that any day over a shopping trip or a designer
bag.
I hope you enjoyed this
whistle-stop journey of lessons I’ve learned from travelling. There are many
other things which I picked up and I will be sure to share them in the future
in another blog post.
One thing I’d advise for anyone who’s spending time abroad
is to keep a travel diary as it’s a lovely way to document your memories and
write down some of the things you learn.
What are some lessons you have learned
from travelling?
I hope you have a great weekend.
Until next week, Khadijah x
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