“To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.”

Since graduating college I have become obsessed with seeing the world and since I don’t make an exorbitant amount of money it takes a lot of sacrifice on my part to fulfill my travel needs. On top of having grand travel aspirations I also like being spontaneous so I never really budget for any one specific trip. It usually comes down to an impulse buy at three in the afternoon on a Tuesday when I’m feeling antsy. It is because of this cycle that most of my money goes into saving for and paying off these trips so that I can book the next one.

I’m comfortable in this phase because I promised myself after college that I was only going to spend my money on experiences; the things I could take with me anywhere and everywhere. Once I started traveling, I realized I couldn’t have it all anymore and the habit of spending my money on stuff just faded away.

I think this is one of the things traveling has shown me that I’m most grateful for. I’m not caught up in a cycle of consumerism. I’m a collector of experiences and memories not things. It has also made me humble and has shown me that life is so much greater than what is troubling me at any given moment on any given day. The world is much bigger than the bubble we live in. The thing I am most grateful for though is that traveling has made me brave. It always comes with certain set of obstacles, the severity of each depending on where you are traveling, but they are always there and you go into each trip knowing that, ready to brace the adventure.

These things that I have learned are just the beginning of what a life rich in travel can teach me. They are lessons in character and adversity that couldn’t have been taught to me in any other circumstance, and they are the daily reminders that make every sacrifice that I have made and will make worth it.