Become a better version of yourself
I always loved traveling. My first experience traveling abroad was in 2012, on a work and travel visa in the USA, but I had never experienced something like volunteering at a different place, getting out of my comfort zone so I decided to take the leap through the Worldpackers’ platform! Traveling is one of the most rich experiences you can have in life, it teaches you so much and helps you become a better version of yourself.
A year ago, a friend of mine had an experience in Rio de Janeiro and she fell in love with it, that’s how I found out about Worldpackers. So I created my profile and kind of left it there for 6 months or maybe more, until the opportunity presented itself. It made me feel like it was a reliable option, and the Worldpackers Team showed me enough support since the beginning.
When I got there, in USA, it was pretty amazing, they showed me everything I needed to do work wise and were also a lot of fun to hang out with after hours! I started as a house keeper for the first 2 or 3 days and the rest of my stay was working reception shifts or special projects!
Perhaps it’s the place or the opportunity, but none of it will ever be enough to explain why this experience as a worldpacker was everything I expected and a little bit more. It was the city, the place I chose to work at, the people I met along the way, all the things I fell in love with, all the places I fell in love with, all the people I fell in love with and I will take them all with me forever. It was all the learning, all the sharing and all that I could accomplish as a person.
The experiences you have while traveling changes you a lot and for good, so personally speaking I truly think that I’ve improved as a person.
Professionally it will help me a lot as well, ’cause nowadays a professional experience abroad is a must-have.
If you’re considering to travel as a worldpacker I would say just let go of your fears for a little while and go for it. Dive into this universe and don’t be afraid because there’s a lot of good stuff coming your way! Explore, make sure that you’re opening yourself up to meet different people, to understand other points of view and most of all to learn! Be ready to lose yourself in the best way possible!
Most of my best memories happened during a trip I’ve taken to camp at the beach in the Californian coast with some of the people that I worked with and late at night we would sit by the beach, listen to music and talk for hours. We also had a boat tour at the lake and it was a hell of a good time. However, my favorite memory was pretty simple if you compare to those.
The place I volunteered at had a couch (exactly, a couch) in the top of this really cool hike in a high point where you could see the lake, a bunch of trees and most importantly, the stars. I’ve been there a couple of times and all of those times were magical, we would talk, laugh or just stay in silence contemplating (even when I was freezing cold!).
Everyone in this huge world has something to add to your life, and it could be a good or a bad thing but it really doesn’t matter, because what matters is that you’ll learn with it. Don’t be afraid of challenges and changes, they’ll make you grow!
Written by Brunna Vilaça
