Today’s day is very special to me because I am celebrating that first trip I took, exactly a year ago on this day!
Like most of you, I too used to share quotes about wanderlust, wanting to travel and the excuses to not travel as well. I barely travelled.
Travel to me only meant a trip to my native place, Bombay, Delhi or a couple of staple places with relatives around. With protective relatives wanting to take care of every need, where was my chance to explore?
Add to it the societal restrictions that came automatically thanks to my birth as the fairer sex (The weaker one as per the society?)
Travel never really happened. Not the way I read of it in listicles or saw it in the movies let alone the dreamy ideas stemming up in my own head! TRAVEL WAS JUST ANOTHER ASPIRATION LIKE THAT OF WANTING MORE MONEY FOR ALL THINGS LUCRATIVE”.
But did I want to travel? Why did I want to travel? For photos or social checkins or just to deal with the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)?
I always made up my reasons! People, their stories, preps to be a filmmaker and what not. Little did I know that there were other things in store that were waiting for me!
It took me a while, lots of cribbing, some impromptu decisions, saving up money, and a lot of effort in convincing my parents to let me go. It’s actually funny, how it all began!
A Jet Airways sale got me all excited to take a 4days trip. I’m not the cool types to instantly pick Goa for my first trip! I picked Pondicherry. My parents always said that they’d let me go when I wanted to, but when all my friends backed out for some or the other reason, they were not very cool about me traveling solo.
“Go anywhere abroad. I can’t trust the society in India no matter how careful you are!”
These were exact words spoken by my dad.
In 10 days, I had a new destination on my mind. The one that was always on my bucket list- Istanbul. It had culture, lifestyle, history, beauty, everything and it could be covered in my budget (50k).
So I had a new mission.
From being against the idea to actually letting me go with a scared, heavy heart my parents allowed me to take my first trip, my first international trip, my first solo trip. It came as a surprise to me and many other’s in my life, who couldn’t believe that I could actually do this. But I knew I wanted to, and as crazy as it sounded when happening in reality, I did it.
Stuff of dreams, right? Even more now that I have travelled to 10 other countries within the same year 🙂
It took effort, convincing, careful planning and some compromise too. But I was sure that I wanted my family to be supportive and convinced about this. It worked.
At 22 I took my first solo trip, or any trip at all.
In the last 365 days, I took a 15 days solo trip, a 50 days trip to Europe with friends and I’m currently on a 10 days family vacation! All planned and executed by me (with help from lots of people, websites and ideas)
I possible cannot put in words how much travel has taught me. Travel has been beyond a glamorous experience. It’s like actively attending the school of life, challenging yourself and overcoming fears and accomplishing tasks you never thought you would or you could.
Today when I look back, I realise I’ve come far with these experiences. I’ve become confident and I’ve become a person of my own being from what I was a year ago.
I’ve survived. Independence isn’t really about being financially sound, but being able to take care of yourself and survive no matter what, where and how! LIFE HAPPENED & I WANT IT TO KEEP HAPPENING ❤
If you really want to do something, not just travel- but learn, ride, act, anything, make that extra courageous effort by doing it. Good or bad, you’ll get the best lessons of life. Don’t stop your flight by clipping your wings with excuses!
Here’s to that first flight that took off to Istanbul ❤
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