3 things I’m learning about myself.
When I started traveling solo, I knew this new chapter would be filled with discoveries about myself. It’s all I was reading about, how solo travel can change your perspective and your life. I went into it with full excitement and quickly learned that bike touring wasn’t for me so without any set plans I booked a one way ticket to Greece where I really learned some things about myself!
1. I really enjoy noticing the little things.
Through my photography I had already learned to notice the little things. You see, it's easy to love the big things. The lines of a mountain ridge drawn against the sky, a waterfall cascading down a steep cliff with immense force. A beautifully coloured bird singing its songs to you. It's another thing entirely, more special, to fall in love with the individual water drop, the different coloured feathers and the detail of barbules. Give the little things the awe and adoration they deserve. During my cycling trip I really noticed the smaller things, and I did again when I was hiking in Greece. I was hit with the realisation that I wouldn’t have noticed the tiny frog crossing or the various insects feeding off the flowers on the roadside, if I had been zooming by in a car. It is very grounding in a way to notice these things that others may not, it is connecting myself with the world around me on a deeper level than simply seeing the wide landscapes that I zoom by.
some macro photos of the past few years.
2. I am not an adventure person.
But I’m also not a vacation person… And that is more than okay! Growing up I traveled a lot in a very adventurous way with my family, we traveled far and free camped as much as possible. Whether we set up the tent between the cacti next to a busy road in Mexico, under a highway in Oman or in the open fields of Kazakhstan, we were always camping the wild. We toured through countries and explored everything it had to offer in the 4 weeks we would be away. We never relaxed at the beach for more than half a day as we were too antsy to do something, especially me. I wanted to hike! Explore! Get dirty!
Unfortunately when I travel like that now, I return home with no energy to start working again. But having a relaxing vacation with lost of consecutive beach days is also not my thing. On some past solo trips I had consecutive days where I would be chilling at the beach or in my accommodation and I hated it, the only reason I did so was because I was sick but as soon as I felt better I went out hiking again as I didn’t want to waste my time. I’m trying to find my balance now between these two types of trips, and whether the balance is 50/50 or looks more like 60/40 or even 90/10 is what I’m enjoying to discover now with my partner. At the very least I know that longer trips fit me better than shorter 1-2 week trips…
photos of my travels growing up.
3. I do not know how to listen to my body.
It’s a weird thing not knowing when you’re hungry, need sleep or why you have that stubborn headache. It feels as if your mind and body can’t actually communicate with each other. It’s even weirder when a person comes along in your life who seemlesly can tell you when the signs are happening and what they mean. In 2022 I was diagnosed with autism and though this is known as a common trait among autistic people I was convinced I just didn’t have it, but then when I was traveling alone in 2023 and didn’t have my families schedule to live on anymore I completely lost track of when I needed to eat, drink or even sleep. After years of ballet and treating my body like absolute shit during my teenage years I lost the skill that is listening to your body; I call it a skill because I whole-heartedly think it is. A skill you’re born with and can lose if you don’t practice it anymore. For the past year I’ve been trying to practice it again, with a lot of help from my partner who joined my life journey as I joined his and somehow knew how to read my signs only after a few weeks and could tell me exactly what was happening. It’s an odd but satisfying thing when you meet someone who knows you so well and can tell you about yourself. As I learned to notice the signs I kept learning things about myself and why I did things a certain way. I came to the realisation why I couldn’t keep a job on the retail floor despite enjoying it to some degree and changed my life situations according to the things I learned. It has made me happier and more appreciative of my life.
