What I Learnt Living In Europe

Nahu
Nahu
Sep 6, 2018 · 4 min read

22 countries across 3 continents in 176 days.

Living in Europe was a dream come true -

Highlights included:

  • Snowboarding down the French Alps
  • Partying across Russia for the FIFA World Cup
  • Riding camels through the Sahara desert
  • Or the simple pleasure of watching the sunset with my friends across the city we called home in the Netherlands.
An experience I would never have dreamt of

Before I’d had the chance to explore the world I was one of many people who used to exclaim ‘why would people spend so much money travelling?’

I’d heard and used all the excuses –

“Once you get home all you’ll have is a few photographs and a loan”

“You can invest it or buy things that are actually useful”

These are all valid points however

There’s an internal growth attained from travelling that only those who have been abroad can describe.

The diverse range of people that you meet, who you may not normally associate with…

The liberating realisation of what’s important and how superficial many of your worries back at home are…

The stories that are written with new friends from around the world…

Observing different cultures and the people within them provides us with the platform to learn and refine the way we live ourselves.

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are”

Throughout my travels in Europe, 2 thoughts that I loved to ponder:

People are inherently good:
“Be good to people and don’t forget that you’re people too”

Due to the information overload that we have and the constant influx of negative news from the various sources of media around us it’s very easy to think of people around the world negatively.

It’s a basic survival instinct and I realised over time — it’s easier for us to fear what we don’t know than it is to try and understand. We’re all guilty of holding prejudices towards people, yet as I travelled around Europe all of these walls came down.

I was in a place where people appreciated me for who I was and I was able to truly love those around me for who they were.

The questions about what you do, where you’re from or the menial discussions that we have at home were replaced with a deep appreciation for each other as human beings and looking to make the most of the precious time we all shared together.

- We set the tone for and control all our interactions:
“Water finds its own level”

There’s so many people in life who you just instantly click with, those people who as soon as you see them bouncing around, even before you’ve said the first word you just think to yourself — ‘I love their energy, I really like what they’re about’.

Throughout my travels I realised that instead of waiting to see what others were like before responding, if we are proactive and bring energy to our conversations and if we’re willing to step out and be the ones to start the conversation, everyone wants to be happy and will generally reciprocate.

Often all it takes is the one universal word that we all share — a smile.

It can break down even the most battle-hardened of glares and instantly endear you to many people you meet. Your vibe attracts your tribe and I’ve realised that everyone’s looking for new tribes to join, it’s just up to us individually to invite people in.

Travelling in itself is an education.

When you return home, all you can do is smile.

You can’t describe the intangible growth that you’ve experienced, but you know that the person who stepped onto that plane 6 months ago and the new one who returned home are completely different.

You’ll always carry a part of your adventures in your heart…

Seeing how abundant life can be, there’s no option but to continue working hard and pursuing our dreams.

Living with the hope that one day soon we’ll be able to feel that taste of true freedom again.

Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport.”


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I’ll be writing daily, providing perspectives on a variety of issues & exploring the big questions that we all share.

The beautiful city I had the pleasure to call home

Nahu

Written by

Nahu

A Gen-Y kid's reflections after travelling the world. Mindset growth, self-development tips & everything that lies in between.

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