The first 18 years of your life, you are mostly surrounded by books, submissions and a blackboard. It is after that, that you contemplate travelling as a hobby or as a teenage thrill. Maybe with friends, marking either Goa or a Himachal trek.
Some start a job and are stuck in the clock of deadlines and routine that burnout is their calling for an adventure. Whether it's heartbreak or loneliness, it is travel that comes to your rescue and not the Pythagoras theorem.
The question is – How does travel change us? Ever wondered.
In an attempt to escape reality, we seek a reality we long for and the only way to bridge that gap is through – Learning Life Lessons through Travel.
1. Life really does begin at the end of your comfort zone.
Whether it is jumping off a cliff or deciding to eat a completely different cuisine, we want to try everything new. We are tempted to try and err. The reason, travel changes you is because you allow yourself the thrill, the excitement, the change. Indeed, life does begin when you step out of your comfort zone.
2. Cultural fusion helps you become broad-minded.
Isn’t it amazing to say – I have some travel friends in Europe or my stay is sorted. My friend, who I met on my trip to Sikkim, is hosting me. Travelling to an unknown soil, and making a known ally not only makes you feel comfortable but also helps you imbibe their way of life, thinking and culture. You want to understand their routine, their faith and how they feel about travellers like you.
At times, the highlight of your trip is meeting that one native, who made your trip memorable.
3. Patience
Nothing teaches patience like travel. Whether it is last minute flight delay, waiting at the hotel check-in, waiting for your turn at the bungee jumping or simply waiting for someone at the 4-lane road, seeking directions. All this needs patience. And what will surprise you the most is, how you managed to stay calm amid all the chaos and discomfort. Well, that’s travel for you.
4. How to live in the moment
In a world, where we want to record all that we see, to watch later, we forget to watch it live, right in front of your eyes. A digital detox will teach you that. Sit at a sunrise point, without your phone, looking right at the horizon. A moment, no one can snatch from you. Eat a meal without sending snaps of it. You will enjoy it better. While paragliding, stop adjusting the selfie stick and just – Scream, Live, Smile. That’s how you live in the moment.
You become a storyteller, budget maker, selfie expert. In simple terms, you come back a different person and a more learned person.
Most travellers are either avid photographers with a background story of the picture, or they are experts of a certain cuisine and one thing is certain: They are skill full storytellers. Where do you learn all this?
It is an institute called the world, with a teacher called Travel. Doesn’t charge anything to teach, yet takes the most expensive element of our life: Our TIME.
But what we get back from it, is UNPARALLEL. We learn. We change. We become better.
There is a world where you learn. Where there are no 4 falls or a blackboard. All that is there, is an open world and a canvass.