A few years back, a friend asked me what is the one piece of advice I would want to give my younger self? It got me thinking about all the missed opportunities, excuses and the years I frittered away convincing myself that I need to be at a particular stage of my life before I could consider doing what I have always wanted to do.
If I had the chance, well, I would tell myself to stop being so scared and live. Just not live but really live and chase all dreams that set my soul on fire.
By 2018, I had been travelling solo within my home country for years. But I have always hand this mental barrier when planning for a trip abroad. I was scared. Scared of being lost, abducted, sick, falling short of foreign currency, losing my passport, not finding a clean washroom…Well, my mind could come out with several reasons why I shouldn’t be following my dreams. It also didn’t help that my parents opposed my plans for traveling solo.
It just took a lot of setbacks and a few self-pitiful months to get me asking myself the serious questions about what to do I want in life? The answer was always in front of me though I knew I was hiding behind the garb of fear and self-doubt.
A near-death experience gave me courage to take the first step. I decided there is no time like the present. I decided that I was going to Singapore. Why Singapore? Well, I had the Lonely Planet Singapore book with me for starters and read it countless times earlier in my plans to travel. Secondly, the stats were all in my favour. Singapore is one of the safest cities in the world. And that was it. No leave from work taken, no permission taken from my parents…I just booked my tickets.
It is rightly said when you jump off the cliff, you build your wings on the way down. In the month before my first trip abroad, I planned my itinerary, booked my hostels, begged leave from work, applied for visa, understood currency conversion and read up. Well, the most difficult part was making my parents understand that I needed to do this. It wasn’t easy. But I did it.
One month down the line, I was on my first flight across the borders. There has been no looking back ever since.
