Looking to get out of your comfort zone? 6 reasons for doing your first solo trip!

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Some time ago a friend of mine (About Rupert Wolfe Murray, travel writer) asked me to explain why I travel and what the advantages of travelling are. After a while I thought maybe I’m complicating my life too much. Maybe I should stop living in a foreign country (France at the moment) return to Romania, get a job and a husband and lead a normal life. I know my parents would be thrilled. So why not do that? Because I love travelling. Because I love living abroad. Because I love the taste of challenge. So here’s why I travel:

1. Travelling taught me to be open minded. Before moving to Austria, where I lived for two years, I was a shy person and didn’t question anything that I had been taught in school. Travelling made me meet new people and slowly, out of someone who blushed when talking to someone, I became eager for human contact, stories and learning. I realized that getting good grades in school is not as important as having an open mind.

2. Travelling taught me how to love. I learned how to love and to be loved while travelling. You have to give in to your feelings and let go of the fear of suffering. I learned that nobody dies of a broken heart. I learned how to love myself, how to love others, how to be romantic, how much fun it is to steal a kiss and that you should just enjoy life. When you are travelling you know that none of your friends are there to judge you, so you can go with the flow and enjoy life.

3. Travelling taught me the value of time. I learned how to cherish moments. How to use my time in the best way. When travelling you often need to catch a train, or to get out of your room by 11am, or meet someone to see the sunset by 7 pm. After missing a bus or a train you learn how to prioritise and use your time to do the things that YOU  like most. This brings me to the next point:

4. Travelling is being selfish. Yes, that’s right. And yes, I see it as a quality as long as you don’t exaggerate it. When you become aware of the limited time you have to visit a place you start thinking what you’d like to do most. You become aware of your wishes and you pursue them, without being a people-pleaser.

5. Travelling makes you surpass your limits. Maybe you’re afraid of heights. But you just met some awesome people who want to climb up 400 steps and see the city from the top of the tower. Maybe you’ve never tried sleeping in a tent because you’re afraid of bugs and bears. Chances are you’ll end up doing things you would normally never do. When I started travelling I met two guys who needed to sell their car and they bet me I couldn’t sell it in one single day. Guess what: I did! And they rewarded me with a 20 minute ride on a ski jet (of course I was afraid of ski jets, but I still did it!).

6. Travelling teaches you the value of money. Is it more important to buy a big house and not travel at all for 15 years or to find a balance and use part of your money to visit a new country, buy a new camera, take amazing pictures, pay entrance fees for the wine castles in France, live in Barcelona for two weeks, pay for a language school, be in France and buy a chocolate croissant every morning while counting baguettes under peoples’ arms? Once, I even rented an observatory for my birthday because I wanted to watch Jupiter at midnight. And it was worth it!

However, you should keep in mind that travelling is not a way of life. It is only a step, a period of time. You should invest in it if you want to know yourself better, spend money and travel in a way you wouldn’t do when you’ll have kids and a mortgage. Finally, it’s a way to piss off your parents who will keep nagging you about how you should grow up and save money. Guess what: you’re already more grown up than they are because you had the courage to go your own way and face the unknown.