What I've Learned

I have always held a curiosity about the world and a dream to travel. When it came to the beginning of 2014 I had fulfilled that dream, but never alone. I had always traveled in a group with friends or family. I had also never lived with anyone other than my family or Damian, and having just graduated from my Science and Education degrees at the end of 2013, I had never had a fulltime job or stood as a fully qualified teacher alone in a classroom.

As you can imagine my next move to take a little jaunt across the globe alone to live and work as a teacher in London for five months was just a tad spontaneous. Damian provided the support and push I needed to say “yes” to the opportunity that presented itself and within 6 weeks of the idea coming into existence, the paperwork was signed, the job was secured and I was boarding a plane to Heathrow.

I sit here now on the other side of that journey and thought I would share with you some things I learned in the last 164 days:

Trust yourself. We are capable of infinitely more than we give ourselves credit for. Know it and own it.

Alone doesn’t mean lonely. A distinction I believe we’d all benefit to recognise. I genuinely believe that learning to be alone minimises loneliness. I have always been someone quite dependent on the company of friends or family and I found that sitting having a pint in the pub by myself wasn’t lonely or awkward but oddly liberating. The fact you can stand alone staring up at Big Ben and know that although you’re not saying it aloud to each other, the strangers next to you are all feeling the same kind of awe and excitement you are.

Living without compromise is also a perk of solo travel. Want to spend hours sitting in the café JK Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter books? Go for it! Want to skip all the typical tourist attractions and instead go on a food crawl through Paris? There’s no one to stop you. Want to spend all day people watching in the park? Knock yourself out. Yes, it is amazing to share experiences with others, and there’s no doubt there were times I longed to look across at a familiar face, smile and say, “This is awesome.” However there is also something pretty special about having a moment that is yours and yours alone.

We’re all different. And that is such a good thing! Every person you meet has endured or experienced something you haven’t. From the interesting and enlightening to the humbling and inspiring – hear a strangers story. They know things you don’t. Learn from them.

My group of best friends in London consisted of girls from five different countries and at least four different religious backgrounds. Yet we were all young, all teachers, mostly new to the profession. We connected on a level beyond labels, beyond stereotypes, beyond differences. I consider them close friends and my London family, my life as whole made better for knowing them. Which brings me to my next point:

We’re all the same. As much as we all come from different places and have different experiences, beliefs, circumstances and values shaping the people we are, one thing I have learnt is fundamentally we are all the same. We’re all human. I know there are douchey ones and sometimes downright evil ones out there but mostly people are good at heart. There will always be someone who will give you a birthday card when they’ve only known you for a week; someone who will give you medication when you’re bed-ridden with sickness in a hostel dorm room; someone who will help you carry your 35kg suitcase up a flight of stairs; someone who will befriend you and take you under their wing…I could go on but you get the idea.

There’s no place like home. There really isn’t. I know there are some beautiful free spirits out there who would happily adopt the title of vagabond and wander the earth for the rest of their existence, but I am not one of them. I love experiencing new cultures, new places, new people and new food (Oh man, the food!) and I love the enrichment these experiences bring to my life but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of letting the adventurer take a breather while you surround yourself with friends, family and familiarity.

Nelson Mandela said, “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” I couldn’t say it better myself, so I’ve decided not to.

For anyone out there considering taking a chance and going adventuring by themselves – do it. Challenge yourself. Go make memories and live stories you can tell when you’re old and grey. The world is full of friends you haven’t met yet and places you’ve never seen. If for nothing else, go for the food. You will not regret it.