How traveling changed me

In a society where we tend to do everything in a rush, always looking for ways to save every possible minute, finding the time to leave for a trip can almost feel like a surreal idea. We are constantly overwhelmed by responsibilities, schedules, and expectations that leave little space for pauses. However, dedicating even a few days to ourselves, stepping away from our routines and forgetting our everyday lives for a while, can become a powerful source of personal growth and development.

Before last year, I had never thought of myself as a traveller. I was convinced that I didn’t have either the time or the money to set off on a journey. Like many people, I believed travelling was a luxury reserved for those with fewer worries and more resources. The truth is, I had never actually stopped to look around me and discover the opportunities I could benefit from. In fact, by taking part in the Erasmus+ project, my school offered students the chance to travel for one, two, or four weeks to another European country, hosted by a local family. The cost? Almost none. When I was offered this opportunity, I didn’t think twice. I left for a one-week trip to the Netherlands, where I attended a Dutch school and stayed with a welcoming and kind family.

There is one thing I have always found fascinating about travelling: discovering how reality looks from a different perspective. It teaches you that your point of view, your habits, and your way of living are not the only ones—and certainly not the only right ones. You are forced to leave behind what is familiar, what is known, and allow yourself to be amazed again. In a way, it feels like becoming a child once more, when everything was new and unexplored and you were still learning how life worked. You learn to put yourself in other people’s shoes and to accept that your reality is only one among many. This process is not easy at all. I was lucky to share this experience with my friends, since adapting to a completely different environment can be challenging. Yet, once you overcome that initial discomfort, you realize that wherever you go, the real difference is made by people: by shared laughter, small gestures, and genuine smiles, even when language becomes a barrier. You'll find, that these people will forever stay in your memories.

Travelling is a strong exercise, and not everybody is willing or able to embrace it fully. There will always be someone complaining about the food being worse than at home, the weather too harsh, or the people too rude. However, there is a lesson even in these negative aspects. We don’t need to consider something worse just because it is unfamiliar to us. Often, it is exactly what we don’t understand that makes a place unique. Diversity, differences, and unexpected encounters are what shape an authentic experience and allow others to become part of who we are.

That is why I love to travel. I love to explore, to notice the subtle change in the air as soon as I get off the airplane, and to feel my mindset slowly shift. Travelling means stepping away from routine and allowing yourself to be surprised again by the world around you.

In the end, travelling can help you grow and discover new things not only about other cultures, but also about yourself. It is a powerful way to forget who we are for a while, to challenge our limits, and to become, even briefly, like the explorers we read about as children—curious, open-minded, and eager to understand the world.