I've dreamed about seeing the world since I was a kid, but then again, who hasn't? The truth is, travelling isn't just about wanting it. It's exhausting, it's expensive, and a hundred things have to fall into place before you even pack a bag. Dreaming about travel and actually living it are worlds apart.
Everything changed when I moved to Europe to pursue my studies. Pavia, Italy. A quiet little town tucked near Milano. It was the first time I'd ever been abroad, and I was completely on my own. Back in India, my parents took care of everything: laundry, cooking, dishes, all of it. Suddenly, I was the one burning food at midnight, struggling with grocery runs in a language I barely understood, and complaining about just about everything.
Then, a couple of months in, I took a trip to Aosta with a friend, and something shifted. That one trip rewired the way I thought about life. It gave me a reason to push through the month, study harder, save a little more, all so I could explore again at the end of it. Aosta was breathtaking, and to this day it's still my phone wallpaper. Some places just stay with you.
For about a year after that, I travelled mostly with friends. Weekend getaways, spontaneous road trips, the usual. But the real turning point came in August 2023, when I decided to do something that terrified me: a 40-day solo Interrail across Europe. That journey didn't just change my itinerary. It changed the way I see life.
I started taking risks I never would have before. I learned faster. About the world, about people, about myself. That trip gave me friendships that crossed borders, memories I still carry everywhere, and lessons no classroom could ever teach. But above all, it gave me something I wasn't expecting. It made me fall deeply, irreversibly in love with travelling. Long journeys that would drain most people started to feel like home to me.
Today, travelling is the reason I thrive. Every challenge feels smaller when you've navigated foreign cities alone at 3 AM. Every problem feels solvable when you've figured out a train connection in a language you don't speak. I feel most alive when I'm on the road. Just me, a backpack, and the unknown ahead.