Travel changes you. We’re all aware of that. But how? Why? What makes travelling somewhere change your views of the world around you, and even the way you see yourself? Today, I’m telling you everything about how travelling changes you, for better and for worse.
Latest update: 11 May 2019
Most people who travel often know how different they are now compared to before they started travelling. Many of them can’t put their finger on how exactly they’ve changed, though. If you’re trying to find that out, you’ve come to the right place.
I put solo between brackets in the title, because travelling by yourself triggers even more change than travelling with others. After all, you are forced to make different decisions, and there is nobody with you that can help you make them. Although this is not a bad thing in many cases, it can be scary. Believe me, I was scared as well. After getting the courage to go to Dublin by myself, though, I’m very happy I did it. And here are some reasons why.
This is the biggest one. This first reason as to why travel changes you applies mostly to solo travel, but people who travel with friends or family might recognize some of this.
When you’re abroad by yourself, there is no-one there to help you. If you make a mistake, you’re the only one who can fix it. You have to rely on yourself. You’re not dependent on anybody else. But that’s the beauty of it. The experience of succeeding at something is so much more meaningful when you know you did it all by yourself. Admittedly, it is nice when you have someone you can fall back on. But it’s even nicer when that someone is you.
Solving problems abroad may seem like a daunting task, but it can feel so good once you actually do it. Even better, you might get some confidence out of it. The more confident you are in a foreign country, the more confident you will be at home. And let’s be honest – what could anyone have against being confident?
In order to gain new perspectives, it’s a good idea to visit places where the culture is as different as possible from your home culture. After all, you don’t go see your neighbours if you want to know how the whole world experiences life. That would be like someone trying to taste Italian cuisine who only eats bread with olive oil.
You need to see how a Nepalese Hindu goes about his day. You need to see how a Spaniard takes a siesta and stays up late. How a South-African falls asleep listening to the rain and watching the stars. How a Peruvian still keeps traditions alive.
It is only when you realize that none of the 7.5 billion people on this earth have experienced today like you have, that you will come to find that there is so much out there. So many places to be and so many people to meet. It almost seems like a shame to not spend your whole life travelling.
I met some great people on my trip to Malta. For example, I met Daniel, a German guy living in Malta, hosting a guest house. I met a French couple 45 minutes from any sign of civilization, and we watched the sunset together. I met an American family and visited an entire city with them. If you want friends from all over the world, travel. Travel often and travel by yourself. There is nothing to be afraid of.
When you travel, you get an opportunity to meet people you never would have met otherwise. Again, this especially applies to travellers who prefer being on the road by themselves. After all, solo travellers are far more approachable than those who travel in groups. Think about it. When you’re abroad, who would you talk to first: someone with a backpack standing in line to get the key to their room, or a group of friends talking to each other? Exactly.
Some of these people you get to know on your travels could change your life. They could become some of the most important people you know. You might even start a relationship with one of them. If you don’t travel, you could miss out on a lot of things.
When you travel, the way you look at life can change drastically. Seeing how people from vastly different cultures think about every aspect of life has the ability to change you as a person.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: travel changes you in ways that nothing else can.
Honestly, it’s a lot like looking at the stars at night. If you never do that, you won’t realize how small and trivial we are. In the context of a huge galaxy, none of our problems or worries matter. And that is exactly why you should just get the most out of your life. Once you realize these things, your mentality will shift from “I don’t know if I should do this” to “I can’t wait to do this”. And that, dear friends, is exactly the change you need in order to fill your life with happiness.
At the end of the day, we’re all just looking for ways to be happy and to bring meaning to our lives. Well, this is it. Chase your dreams and be wild every once in a while.
Do you have any reasons why travel changes you? Be sure to let me know. Also, don’t forget to check me out on social media (I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)! Thanks for reading!
-S
PIN IT!
Everyone who has ever taken an airplane somewhere knows how boring flying can get. That’s why I decided to make this post and introduce you to my favourite movies. Let’s get right to it! Here are 10 movies you could watch on an airplane in order to make the flight more enjoyable.
Note: in no way, shape or form am I saying these are the best movies ever. Nor am I saying these are the only movies you should watch on an airplane. I just think this list lends itself perfectly for passing some time while you’re flying to your next perfectly planned holiday.
The films I watch are mostly a mix of crime, drama, adventure and a little bit of sci-fi and mystery (or sometimes even a lot of mystery). I realize this is a very diverse set of genres, but I guess I have a very diverse taste, in that case.
I’ll add links to the IMDb page of every movie I list, so that you can look further and decide for yourself which movies you want to watch. I chose IMDb because I feel like that’s the most extensive website where you can find useful information about both films and tv shows. The website’s design is also intuitive and sleek.
Without any further ado, let’s take off! (wink)
For starters, this movie has a crazy cast. Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine among others star in it. If that’s not reason enough for you to watch it, there’s more. Now You See Me is about four illusionists pulling off crazy heists during their live performances and officials trying to figure out how they did it. It also has a sequel, but I feel like the original is a lot better because the concept was new.
This movie’s most impressive actors are Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Douglas’ character, Nicholas Van Orton, is a rich banker. His brother gives him a real-life experience as a birthday present but it doesn’t really go as he had planned. I won’t spoil the rest of the movie for you, but the story line of this movie really is superb.
You might be discouraged by the fact that it came out before Y2K, but let me tell you something. Some of history’s best movies came out a very long time ago. In contemporary cinema, there is not a lot that can excel these classics. The Game is one of those classics.
Predestination is one of the most mind-boggling films I have ever seen. Even after seeing it about three times, there’s still parts of it that blow me away. Again, I won’t spoil anything, because then there’s not really a point in even watching it. But I will say that this is definitely a movie you won’t soon forget.
The story involves incredible performances by Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook and Noah Taylor, tracking criminals, time travelling, a very odd love story and a few identity crises. If these are things you’re interested in and you haven’t seen this movie, you should definitely watch it.
Another movie with a great cast that includes Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood and Mark Ruffalo. In ESOTSM, Carrey and Winslet play a couple that split up. In order to forget about each other, they decide to undergo a procedure to erase their memories, and they soon find out that that wasn’t the best idea.
This movie won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, which should tell you a lot about how good the story actually is. Furthermore, seeing Jim Carrey act in a role that’s nothing like Ace Ventura or Dumb & Dumber is quite fascinating.
Another great storyline with impeccable acting and an impressive cast. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley all give their best. This movie, released in 2010, tells a story about a U.S. Marshal in the 1950. He is sent out to investigate how a woman charged with murder was able to escape from a Guantanamo Bay-like prison for the clinically and criminally insane.
Being a big fan of Leo’s works, I feel like this is one of his best acting efforts. You’ll have to watch Shutter Island to find out why that is, but I can only tell you that you will not regret it. (Also, Martin Scorsese directed it!)
After holding the Academy Award for Best Picture for about one minute, the cast and crew of La La Land had to give it up for Moonlight. Beside this unfortunate mix-up, I really cannot find anything wrong with this movie. It was probably one of the most anticipated movies in recent history, which only added to the experience of actually seeing it.
The impressive cast included Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone giving their best in a way we’ve never seen them before. Moreover, it included a minor role for J. K. Simmons, also known from Whiplash (another one of my favourite music-related movies and coincidentally also directed by Damien Chazelle).
You really don’t need to know more than the fact that this movie is about love. Love for jazz, love for other people, love for culture and love for the acting efforts of Gosling and Stone. Go watch it. No, seriously.
In spite of being ranked #1 on the list of top rated movies on IMDb, The Shawshank Redemption did not win any Academy Awards. Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman and director Frank Darabont managed to transform Stephen King‘s short story into a magnificent piece of classic cinema, though.
The story is about Andy Dufresne, who is wrongfully locked up in Shawshank Prison for murdering his wife and her lover. There, he develops a friendship with Red and his partners and they go through a lot of things.
In essence, The Shawshank Redemption is a prison movie, but it’s unlike any prison movie you’ve ever seen. Even though it’s now praised all around, it originally didn’t even make enough money to cover production costs. Nowadays, it’s one of the biggest cult movies ever made. And it has good reason to be.
Yes, 1957. Now, before you say this is something you would never watch, listen up. I thought the same thing. I used to think the only good movies were the ones that came out after 2005. That was until I gave 12 Angry Men a chance. You should do so too, and here’s why.
It’s ranked #5 on IMDb’s top rated movies. The whole story goes on in one room (except a couple of minutes), and still manages to be enthralling through its exciting dialogue. It’s in black and white, but there are so many shades of grey – a lot more than 50. It’s a movie not a lot of casual watchers know, so you can impress your friends with it.
Are those enough reasons? If not, the story itself might convince you. A young man has been put on death row and 12 jurors have to decide whether he’s guilty or not. All the jurors seem to agree and it seems like the process will be over quickly. But one of the jurors is not so sure. This is the story of that juror’s train of thought.
Let’s get over the basics quickly, because really, everybody knows this movie. Even though nobody’s supposed to talk about it. IMDb top rated movies #10. Major roles for Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, and a minor role for Helena Bonham Carter. 1 Academy Award nomination. Initially didn’t make enough to cover production costs, but grew out to be one of the biggest cult classics ever made.
Here’s the story: an office worker suffering from insomnia is trying to find a way to change his life. On his path to doing so, he meets a soap maker who seems dedicated to making his new friend’s goal come true. They start an underground fight club that eventually grows out to become something neither of them could ever have imagined.
And finally, my personal favourite movie ever made (so far): The Prestige. Let me try to convince you to watch and love it as well.
Once more, the cast is nothing short of impressive. Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johanson and Michael Caine all made this movie what it is. Even David Bowie has a role in it. The Prestige was directed by Christopher Nolan, one of the most critically acclaimed directors around the world. (You might know him from Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Man of Steel or Interstellar)
Well, there you go! That was my list of favourite movies to pass some time with. I can honestly say I would watch these movies every time I get the opportunity to, and so should you. If there is anything you would change about this list, feel free to let me know down below!
-S
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