Day 8 of the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project* is about learning.
Travel and learning go hand in hand. Travel teaches us not only about the world and the people in it, but also more about ourselves and our own ideas and values. What has travel taught you this year?
To say I have learned a lot through travel in the past year might be an understatement. In a way, I think the past year has been all about learning.
I learned that anything is possible if you want it badly enough.
Five years ago, taking even a couple months off to travel seemed like a pipe dream. Two years ago, it seemed slightly possible but I kept putting off actually doing it. This year, I finally wanted it enough to make it happen. Once the switch flipped in my head from “this is something I want to do” to “this is something I am going to do,” I found ways to make it all come together.
I learned I really am not a patient person. And may never be.
I have never been a patient person. I am the person tapping their foot when the line at the grocery store moves too slowly or anxiously checking my watch when I showed up to meet someone early and they are just five minutes late. However, anyone who has ever traveled knows there are times when you just need to be patient. While I would like to say that after two straight months on the road, I have learned the art of patience, I really haven’t.
When I lost my ATM card to a bank machine in St. Petersburg, I was not patient.
When I was sick and craving sleep in a loud hostel dormitory in Moscow, I was not patient.
When I was with my host family driving to Suzdal and a four hour drive turned into a six hour drive, I was not patient.
When I arrived in Vladivostok and had to wait an hour for a bus into the city, spend 90 minutes on the bus and then couldn’t find the next bus I needed to take me to my hostel, I was not patient.
Granted, there is still time. But even if I become a more patient person, I think my patience will always have its limits.
I learned to let go.
Even though it meant fulfilling my dream, leaving Chicago to travel was not easy. It meant letting go of a good job (and possibly career) in which I might have had a solid, successful future. It meant letting go of expectations I had long held for myself about where I would be and what I would be doing at this point in my life. It meant letting go of friends who no longer seemed to understand or support me. It meant letting go of what many would consider a pretty good life to throw myself into something that could totally backfire on me.
Most importantly, it meant letting go of the fear that had been holding me back.
*Throughout the month of November, BootsnAll is inviting bloggers from around the world to join them in a daily blogging effort – the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project – designed to reflect on how our travel experiences over the last year – or whenever – have shaped us and our view of the world. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.
Learning is fun! Thanks for sharing what you have learn in your life.. I really love to hear more about you..
i always keep this quote in mind. “Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.”
Hadn’t heard that before, but I like it. Thanks for sharing!
One thing I learned from this – we couldn’t travel together. We would get along well but we would always be two pissed off, impatient people and that wouldn’t be good long term. 🙂
LOL, thanks for the comment Jeremy! Yes, we would probably be two miserable travelers together. I think it’s important to have someone along to be rational and remind me to not be so impatient. 🙂
Lesson #1 is so true! Deciding is the hardest part…then you can just make it happen.
I think I might have to travel a lifetime before I can learn patience. They told me I’d learn to be patient when traveling, and they told me I’d learn to be patient when I had kids. So far both seem to be making me more and more impatient.
So much for what “they” know.
Haha, very true! Although I think I am learning to control my impatience more (if that makes any sense).