Globetrotters Writer Spotlight – Carmen Borgia
Hi, Globetrotters! My name is Carmen. I’m 23 years old, and traveling (typically solo) has been a major part of my life ever since I did a high school exchange in Perth, Australia in 2015–2016.
I’m originally from College Park, Maryland (USA). I graduated from the University of Maryland in 2021 after creating my own major, which combined my passions of writing, digital media, and activism. I’ve been traveling while working part-time ever since the fall of 2021.
At the moment, I work in communications for a nonprofit called Raise The Barr. We provide support and resources to single parents who are pursuing college degrees so that their families can achieve economic mobility, and my job involves writing and designing media for our social platforms, website, newsletter, etc.
I love to travel because it’s the greatest adventure of all time!
Especially solo-travel. I love the novelty of constantly being in a foreign place, meeting new people, seeing beautiful scenery, and experiencing new adventures.
I also love the lack of routine, because I can never get bored.
Diane Ackerman said: “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”
If you follow along with my other blogs, you’ll notice that I’m obsessed with this quote. This is exactly how I feel about my own life, and it’s what I get from traveling.
My favorite place I’ve ever been is Bled, Slovenia.
Ever since the moment I got off the bus in Bled, I was in love with the striking mountains, sparkly lake, and vibrant October colors, and in my books, Bled has earned the title of My Favorite Place on Earth. I’m usually drawn to particular destinations based on their natural landscapes, and Bled—particularly from the Ojstrica viewpoint—captured my heart.
Honestly, my #1 travel activity is spending the afternoon in a local cafe or vegan restaurant and writing and/or working. This may not be the most effective way to get to know a city or culture, but it’s one of the ways I find comfort and stability in my crazy lifestyle. For me, traveling is my normal life, so I deeply cherish these days when I can sit and reflect and create.
In my “spare” time, I obviously love to write.* I write stories about my travels, often in the form of open letters to the countries I visit. I also spend a lot of time—particularly when I’m alone—thinking about the deeper questions of life, and I explore these thoughts here on my blog as well.
*I put “spare” in quotation marks because — at the risk of sounding pretentious — I don’t really like to classify my time as “spare” time. How do I distinguish this from other time? Is it whenever I’m not working for a wage — which I only do a few hours each week? What if I start making money off of my writing, which is currently my favorite hobby? Will the hours I spend on Medium no longer be considered “spare”? Food for thought.
I can also spend entire days at the beach—swimming, reading, journaling, and listening to music or podcasts… Of course, I love to explore the places I visit as well, whether that involves riding a bike, driving a scooter, or hitchhiking.
I’d also like to get more into camping and get better at playing soccer (or “football”). I used to lift weights regularly, and when I eventually settle down somewhere, I think I’d like to get back into that.
And while I only work part-time, I could still fill an additional 24 hours each day with reading, writing, and creating. Speaking of creating, I also love to make videos!
My top travel tip is to do it scared.
I took my first solo trip to the other side of the world when I was 18 because I wanted to go there and no one wanted to go with me. Simple as that. Back then, I had no idea that there was an entire universe of solo-backpackers out there, or that solo travel would bring me some of the best memories and most important people of my life (to date).
As a college freshman, I just wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef before it died. So I went for it.
Just do it. Find a way. And do it now.
My favorite way to travel is by buying a one-way ticket, booking a couple nights in a hostel, and seeing where things go from there. I love traveling with friends, but since I’m traveling indefinitely, I’m solo most of the time. I tend to be a budget-traveler, cooking my own meals (except here in Asia, where eating out is so affordable), staying in the cheapest dorm room at hostels, and using public transport (and occasionally hitchhiking) to get around.
My favorite mode of transportation is the trains in Europe :)
Three lessons I’ve learned from traveling are:
- “If it costs your mental health, it’s too expensive.” I don’t remember where I first read this quote, but it has stuck with me ever since. I often go to extreme (by the average person’s standards) measures to save money, but I’ve learned that sometimes these measures end up costing me extra money in unforeseen problems—or even costing my peace of mind—which ultimately makes them more “expensive.” Another way to phrase this, as my friend Shannon pointed out, is “peace of mind is priceless.”
- Mindset + mood are ultimately the factors that make or break an experience. Of course, factors like people, places, and weather make a huge impact on the quality of any trip or experience. But ultimately, our capacity to enjoy our time with our travel companions (or ourselves) or in the places we’re in is based on our willingness to accept what is. As a chronic over-thinker and faultfinder, I’m still working on this.
- Trust your timeline. Traveling is meant to be unpredictable. It should be challenging. Personally, my best travel stories are better than any tale my imagination could’ve come up with, because life (especially while traveling) is an adventure. So trust your timeline, and embrace the unknown!
I’m so excited to be a part of the Globetrotters community. Thanks for having me!
