23/04/17

Why You Should Travel More

Florence, Italy

Rewind a few years back to 2008, and you would have found me living in Manchester in my University halls. Inside that apartment you would find a huge poster on my bedroom wall featuring Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, one of my favourite reads and a story that made a lasting impression on me, from the very first time I discovered it. Fast forward to 2017 and I’m pretty sure it can’t have gone unnoticed to new and old readers alike, that travel is an integral part of my life and of this blog. Travel for my career, travel for pleasure and travel to expand my horizons, are all so important to me.

I have lost count already of how many flights I have taken this year alone, and although for some that may seem a little crazy, for me every second in the air is worth it, knowing that there are new discoveries waiting for me at the other end. I say this now, after 22 hours from door to door to reach Sri Lanka, where I’m currently writing in bed.

I am a huge advocate of education and all of the benefits it brings, if of course it’s the right path for you to take. Life however isn’t just about classrooms and textbooks. Some of the most amazing, intelligent, successful and more importantly happiest people I know, never went to University, nor did they desire to. The places you visit and the people you meet bring growth, adventure and life experience, and travel is a huge catalyst for all of those things to shine.

Let me add to the mix here before I continue, that my definition of travel is not necessarily flying to the other side of the world to go backpacking for 6 months or to take a gap year. I myself camped for 3 months across North America taking in state after state and it was a life experience that changed me for the better, but just as that trip was a turning point for me in my life, so too may be a trip lasting only a few days in the same country you live and already love.

With that in mind here are the reasons I think we should all broaden our horizons, book that trip and see more of the world.

Huge Thankyou to Luisa Via Roma for the dressing and location

‘Because in the end you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.’ – Jack Kerouac

9 Reasons.

Escaping Reality – No matter how much we love our careers, our home and our everyday life, there’s something magical about escaping reality for a little while. The anticipation we all feel in the run up to our travels, knowing the out of office is on, our bags are packed and we can leave real life behind for just a while is second to none. It’s akin to fulfilling a long awaited dream whether it’s with others or alone.
Creating Memories – You may have noticed the quote above, it’s one of my favourites from On The Road because it is so so true. Look back over the past couple of years and if someone asks you what amazing things you’ve done, I would hazard a guess that you won’t tell them about your work day; you’ll tell them about that beautiful island you visited with your other half or that mountain you climbed with your friends.
Inspiring Others – This is a huge one for myself and a lot of blogging friends of mine, as everything we feature on our blogs we would recommend to others. There’s nothing greater than visiting a part of the world you adore so much that you want to tell your friends and family about every day you spent there and would recommend them visiting too. Being able to inspire another persons family holiday, romantic getaway or even which Trek America trip to experience, makes me incredibly happy.

4. Enhancing Content – I am a perfectionist, you all know that by now. I want to keep my little corners of the internet fresh, interesting and if I can, as unique as possible. I always want to be creative and offer that little extra something for anyone who follows me but just as I do it for the blog, I do it for me too. These are the images that I will cherish forever and will be forever proud of just as anyone would feel pride in the photographs they curate.

5. Expanding Our Minds – There is so much for us to see and experience out there that I sometimes don’t even know where would be next on the list. One thing I am sure of is that no matter where we travel and who we travel with we are constantly learning about everyone and everything else on our planet. You may not go as far as to set out on a spiritual journey with the aim of ‘finding yourself’ but I know that no matter what our choice of travel we will always bring something back home with us.

6. Growing Closer – Quite often we travel to celebrate and feel closer to others in our lives. We meet people on our travels who would never have crossed our paths and who we continue to treasure long after our journey ends. We also choose to travel with soul mates, with friends and with family; only growing closer and celebrating memories past, present and those yet to come.

7. Resetting Ourselves – Sometimes we just need to stop and recharge before we burn out, and traveling can be the perfect way to achieve just that. I know for me even the journey itself can be utterly therapeutic to turn off, recharge my batteries and not touch my emails. Finding a destination where you can relax, take a deep breath and choose to do whatever you desire is the perfect antidote to our stressful lives. Whether that be a jolly down to Cornwall, a bed and breakfast in the Cotswolds or a cruise around the coast of Italy.

8. Achieving Dreams – Traveling can offer a way to live our dreams like nothing else seems to do. It’s a topic of conversation I hear so often with friends, with work colleagues and with anyone I have the pleasure of meeting. We all have ideal holidays to experience, adventures we are dying to live and wonders of the world we dream of seeing with our own two eyes. We can achieve whatever we set our minds to.

9. Discovering Homes – I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about why I consider different places in the world home and this is one of the reasons I love to travel. I leave a piece of my heart wherever I travel and in some cases fall head over heels for certain cities and destinations. The feeling of finding that place, somewhere in this vast world, that for you could be home, is perfection.