Getting Unstuck

12:30 AM

You always remember your first time. That moment you take the leap. There is that moment when you hold your luggage and ride your first plane out of the country. For me, it was three years ago. I have not stopped moving ever since. Such like my childhood heroes - the practical princess, Nancy Drew and Hercule Poirot. Their adventures brought them to places and I knew in my heart how much I've wanted to be somewhere new constantly. So I did.

You just keep moving. And ever since I started moving I moved away from one simple phrase:

I CAN'T.

Here are most of those things I associated with such phrase back when I was stuck in one place.

I was always in a group when I was a kid. I never liked crowded places but I liked being with someone. Because the world tends to be scary when you're alone. That is until my boss from the university decided to make me go on a solo research trip to Leyte where I did not exactly know anyone or had someone to be with me on every location. I flew there, found a lodging behind UP Palo and almost got stranded at Rafael's. But I survived the week and got home with a box of pasalubong. I haven't gone on a solo trip again but I did book a single ticket to Coron this year. Because a little girl can go around on her own without the fear of being alone.

This is similar to the famous line "take time to smell the flowers". There were moments I was in between places but my mind is really nowhere. I was moving around with no direction. Those times when I was working on different projects for school or for work. Moments I would meet some friends then go home to work then rush to another. It's also another thing when you have just started traveling and you think you can go to every single place without savoring the moment. One photo here, one photo there and you are done. I have learned to take my time, enjoy the scenery, get to know the people, and actually feel the new environment before going to some place else. As they say, "life is not a sprint, it's a marathon". I aim to take my time to actually have real stories about the places I've visited.

Moving on means sacrifices. Some things need to be cut. Back then I was drinking a cup of frappuccino almost everyday, buying random things every paycheck, and going to every invite from my friends. But all these things add as debit to my travel fund but does not equate to the same happiness I get when I step out of a plane to explore a new place. I had to say no to invitations, no to cravings and no to the old lifestyle. It was easier to say no with this in my mind:

Source: http://quote22.com/quotes-about-travel/3723/

I guess traveling makes you feel more alive that you move away from having doubts about yourself. It makes you own your steps and your direction. Sometimes, you get lost. Sometimes, you make a mistake. But you always take a risk. The world is there to be explored.

The 21 year-old version of me would be so proud.

*This post is an entry for Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Blog Carnival. The theme for March is “The Things You Graduated From After Becoming a Traveler" by Kaiz Galang of http://missbackpacker.info