1/4/12

Travel should take you places*


While writing this below i discovered a song :)


*That's a slogan that really got to me at the beginning of last year when i was coming back home from my first skiing trip. I was in the backseat of a car on a highway from austria to munchen and as we were getting closer to the airport, looking out on the window , i noticed a big ad on the wall of a huge warehouse by the side of the road. "That sounds funny" i said to myself and to the others around me. And somehow it got stuck in my head, to the point that i even wrote it on an envelope where i began putting  money away for trips around the world. 

Travel should take me places. It took me to the place in my life where i started to wonder..where am i heading? if i really start to think about how i have changed in the last few years, in a way i can't even compare the now me, with the 18 years old version of myself. In the last couple of years the "present me" started to take shape, and i have a really good feeling that i am heading in the right direction, even if i don't know exactly which is it.

 I just came back from Barcelona last night and yes, the inspiration for this post comes from this time spent away with absolutely no worries whatsoever, just getting in touch with myself.

As I said before, looking back at the most recent phases i have been through i can say that now i'm at the beginning of a new one.I just put on hold the "focus on the career" phase in which i have been for four years and opened my eyes to a new perspective which seemed so far away until now, but now it seems closer/more possible than ever.

Me and my friends were talking a lot about taking a year off, a gap year just for traveling all over the world, meeting new people, trying new things, gathering memories for the time we will all drink a coffee on a porch and look at our grandchildren play together. So we started discussing when we should to do it, some of us have to take some exams, some have absolutely no worries, some want to settle better at their workplace before leaving. It became somehow clear that we weren't able to do this at the same time. The whole subject was left on hold for the moment.

But while i was away, the thought that i should do something meaningful for me during my lifetime started making more and more room in my head. Sitting on the beach in Sitges, and debating this subject, i started to think..what if instead of a gap year, i could have a "gap" life?

Is there something holding me back? Yes..the fact that my family is here. But my family will always be here and i can always come back. My grandparents are here(well, this is a thought which i really prefer to put somewhere in a box for the moment. )

I finished school with good grades, satisfied my ego with a scholarship and made my family proud. I was the first of my friends to get a job, i made career plans, worked long hours and sometimes weekends to learn more and become better.

You could say that the next steps for me would be to work the same or harder for the next years, get a good position in a big company, buy a place, get married and have some kids, build a house, take family trips and so on. But what if i don't want these things for me? what if i see all of these as some sort of limitation?

You know when the grass starts to grow through the ground, slowly becoming taller and taller? That's how these thoughts are growing in my head right now, slowly..and who knows, like in the video below, they could die as fast as they grow.



Anyways, for now, all i can think of and imagine is spending my life traveling. God knows, there are advertising agencies almost everywhere, and jobs in marketing as well. 

What about a year in Barcelona, not more than one in London, certainly more than two in France, maybe in a small village near the coast, a summer on an island in Greece sounds nice, a few years in South America and so on. It doesn't sound that bad, does it?

As i was saying to my best friends in an email a few days ago, walking around in a beautiful city, having time in my hands, i remembered another headline, this time from an Emirates commercial ( i know, i love inspirational ads), and that was " When was the last time you did something for the first time?".
So as far as i am concerned, one of the main objectives for the rest of my life is to be able to answer the above question with not more than " a couple of months ago". After all, i have only one life that i know of, and that one is short.

Take care,
Until next time,

 D.


**is the headline of a 2006 Hilton campaign with focus on the concept  that  "travel should facilitate meaningful experiences"

14 comments:

  1. Before you push the "GO" button, let me know cause there will be at least two persons in this gap life described above!

    L.

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  2. Travelling and moving somewhere are 2 very different things. I think it's perfect to stay home and enjoy all your friends and your family, and also have the time, money and person near you so that you can travel the world every weekend. Gap year is for quitterS:)

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  3. Thank you for sharing your point of view. Maybe you would like to explain more why do you believe that choosing to spend a year or more in a different way than the "regular" one is in your eyes egual to quitting( what?) :)

    Thanks again,

    D.

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  4. First of all, I believe that the journey to finding yourself should not necessarily mean moving to another city/country/culture. If you have the wish to try something new, most probably you are not happy with what you currently have, but that does not mean you will find yourself by moving around the world. It may confuse you even more. Nowadays people our age would like their youth way of life to never end, and are afraid of what is going to happen next, as you mentioned in your post: 9 to 5 office hours, marriage, children, family holidays, etc. But these things can also be done differently if you want to. I think that the most important things in life are family and friends and life is not about quantity, but quality. Even if you go around meeting 100 persons a day, it will all come down to your 3-4 most closest friends and your family. One year off is not enough for you to get to know exactly how things work somewhere else, but is enough for you to be set apart from what's happening at home. And if you do not have the wish to remain in another country for a longer period of time (4-5 years) and pursue a career there before coming back, it may affect both your professional and personal life in a negative way. The gap year is usually taken between high-school and college, it’s just about travel, and you don’t travel alone but with a group of friends. It’s said that it should widen your view and make you decide what road to choose in life and also in college, but of course that time has passed for us :) There is much more to be said, but neither the timing nor the place are right. And I'm still waiting for a reply:)

    Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. For a clearer answer :)

      First of all, I believe that the journey to finding yourself should not necessarily mean moving to another city/country/culture.

      – I am not planning to go on a guest to find myself; just to shape my life, try a new way of living.


      If you have the wish to try something new, most probably you are not happy with what you currently have, but that does not mean you will find yourself by moving around the world. It may confuse you even more.

      - here, I don’t agree at all. The need to try something new doesn’t come from the fact that I am not happy with my life, au contraire, I really think that life treated me really good. This need comes from the human desire for more, in whatever form. Is it just better to settle for what you have? Not for me.


      Nowadays people our age would like their youth way of life to never end, and are afraid of what is going to happen next, as you mentioned in your post: 9 to 5 office hours, marriage, children, family holidays, etc.

      – not all, but many, I agree.

      But these things can also be done differently if you want to.

      – they are done differently by everyone, but in fact, it’s kind of the same thing. How much more differently can they be done?

      I think that the most important things in life are family and friends and life is not about quantity, but quality. Even if you go around meeting 100 persons a day, it will all come down to your 3-4 most closest friends and your family.

      – oh, I sure agree with you here. It’s exactly what I’m talking about, life is about quality, it’s one of the main ideas of this post :)

      One year off is not enough for you to get to know exactly how things work somewhere else, but is enough for you to be set apart from what's happening at home. And if you do not have the wish to remain in another country for a longer period of time (4-5 years) and pursue a career there before coming back, it may affect both your professional and personal life in a negative way.

      – Set apart in what way? Maybe some of my friends will join me, maybe others will be in other countries, maybe I’ll come home every four months, send emails almost every day. And who knows what will happen with my job, maybe working in a country/company I will apply for a job at the same company but with headquarters somewhere else. And why is it mandatory 4-5 years, and not 2 or 3?

      The gap year is usually taken between high-school and college, it’s just about travel, and you don’t travel alone but with a group of friends. It’s said that it should widen your view and make you decide what road to choose in life and also in college, but of course that time has passed for us :)

      - my bad, here, maybe I should have used another term than “gap”. Exactly these types of sayings (that time has passed for us. College time, yes. Choosing a road? It happens every day.) make me want to do something, even if in others’ eyes it’s too late.

      There is much more to be said, but neither the timing nor the place are right.

      – I couldn’t agree with you more.

      And I'm still waiting for a reply:) – here it is :)

      Delete
  5. Mai stii basmul Tinerete fara batranete si viata fara de moarte?
    Sa fugi in lume si sa cauti bucurii efemere si dupa multi ani sa iti dai seama ca de fapt ai pribegit degeaba prin lume si ca o familie langa tine si cel putin un copil e de fapt fericirea...
    Mai vorbim cand vii acasa.

    Mama

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  6. :) I like your mom.

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  7. Hei mama lu'Diana,
    "Tinerete fara batranete si viata fara de moarte"-basm inexplicabil, inepuizabil si inconturnabil.
    Mai vorbim cand vin acasa :)

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  8. I don’t find it the best solution. How many times in a life can you move for an year? Hm..10-15 times, that means 10 to 15 locations. Well, you could go for a visit for 4-7 days, 3 times a year, meaning at least 45 new locations.
    I was thinking to buy an ATV when I’ll have the resources for that, but then I thought that why not to rent a diving equipment or a motor or an ATV or whatever I want. How to choose when you have so many options? It’s better to try them all in a life time! :)

    dana.

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  9. If you don't have something holding your heart here it doesn't mean that it doesn't exiSt.

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  10. you should really see this movie:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFaFEuwHLQ

    If you want something in life just reach out and grab it! :)

    SS

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. stiam ca te vei apuca de fumat

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    Replies
    1. nu, teo, contrar aparentelor, nu m-am apucat de fumat

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