Why travel?

Travel defined is to make a journey. Whether that’s a personal journey of achievements, a travel through time or a travel through locations, they are all examples of travel; a journey.

During my 21 years of life I have travelled through; 2 decades and one millennium celebration; an educational journey that took me to 3 different schools as well as a new city for my university studies; many caravanning trips around the United Kingdom and the odd summer holiday abroad. However my travel journey is constantly on-going! In 37 days I will be taking a new journey, one lasting 6 weeks which will take me around Europe. So why travel?

Admittedly travel isn’t something I have always considered. Realistically I have only started considering it in the past couple of years. The sudden change in interest can be pinpointed to 3 circumstances over the past couple of years. The 3 circumstances opened my eyes to look further afield, leave the comfort zone and allow for greater possibilities to live life and have fun!  

Relocating to Derby for University:

Up until the age of 18 I had lived my life in the same one house, at my 3 local schools. The biggest move I undertook was moving bedrooms. Other than holiday I had no reason to explore further; family, friends, education were all situated within this county.

The big move to Derby meant leaving all these comfort zones to set up home in an unfamiliar town whereby I knew no one, with a commitment to a 3 year course. The outcome was I had a ball and discovered that living somewhere else was an enjoyable experience. The outcome of this landmark means that I now consider the option of being away from my hometown for longer periods of time as a strong possibility.

A University trip to Brussels, Belgium:

A 3 day educational trip to Brussels to look and observe the transport system on the face of it sounds dull and mundane. The truth is that it opened my eyes to the life of travelling. We stayed in a basic hostel; had to understand, plan and use local public transport to get from A to B within a set timeframe while undertaking tasks; find food (and drink) while on a student budget and get to grasps with everything written and said in a foreign language.

Although timetabled tasks were set for this trip, it was a more relaxed approach to that of school trips. More times than not, we were left to our own devises to complete the work. Some tasks didn’t have set locations to be completed at, meaning we were left to decide where to get a train or tram to. We were also given ‘free’ time to do what we wished. Spontaneous planning was an important factor within this trip, something I really enjoyed. I enjoyed visiting ‘mini Europe’ and ‘Manneken Pis’ which gave me an insight into sightseeing. This trip also made me realise it is ‘who you go with’ that is important. I was with my little group of university friends and we had a ball!

Youtubers:

I have never been one to watch much TV – films and TV series don’t interest me, and anything that requires my full attention for a long amount of time, also don’t appeal to me. However, I can easily spend several hours a night just wandering through YouTube; video after video after video.

When it comes to travelling inspiration FunForLouis and Ben Brown are where I look. Documenting (something I enjoy) their everyday lives while travelling all over the world has given me a visual representation that there is so much of the world I would like to see. Their enthusiasm for their ventures, to document so others can witness parts of the hidden world through their experiences and their living life to the full attitude inspires me to get out there and explore!  

Life’s too short to stay in one place!

Amester x