Yes, I did it! – The beginning of the Story – Part 2

Read the first part to find out the beginning of the story.

It was soon after the breakup, when I heard that she, my ex-girlfriend, already had someone new. It was the guy she always said “No, don’t worry, there is nothing to worry about”. Well guess what? There was something to worry about, but I was to blind to see it. After three weeks of pure depression and sport, a lot of sport, to come on other thoughts, I started thinking clear again. My state of mind couldn’t continue like this, I wanted to start living again, to laugh and enjoy life, like I always did. What do I do in such situations? Right, I booked myself a flight to Madrid. I wanted to have some good days and come on other thoughts. The weather in Dublin is not as bad as people say, but there wasn’t much sun anyway. So, I thought Madrid would be a good place to visit.

Two weeks later my journey started, and it would change everything. I flew on my own, as I prefer to do what I want, and to meet new people. And in fact, I had such a great time. Already at the airport in Dublin, I met people from the US. We did most things together for the first three days. On the third evening, we went to a nightclub where a guy from my hostel room took me into the VIP area and we partied till 7 am. On the fourth day, I went to Toledo for a day trip. I did so many amazing things and all of this in only four days. I completely forgot about my bad experience and could get some sun.

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Sounds like a good trip to a city in Spain no? But what has all of this to do with my WorldTravel? Why do I tell you all about this? Well, on the second day I participated in a so-called “Free Walking Tour”. You can find such Tours in every major city in Europe. Students will show you their city, and only ask for a little tip at the end. The guide of our tour was studying in Madrid, but she was originally from Canada. As I talked to her, she mentioned a WorldTravel she did for herself when she was younger. After this I got curious and ask about her trip. We ended talking over one hour about it, and about my own plans. I told her that I have a lot of doubts, and I wouldn’t be sure if I should do it. At the end, she gave me the advice to absolutely do it, no matter what, because it was the best experience in her life and I should take the opportunity to do the same. After this conversation I couldn’t stop thinking about it. All my plans and thoughts, I had a few years before, came back into my mind.

Back in Dublin, I started to read blogs from other people who did a WorldTravel and as I read their experiences I just got more excited about it. But then again, there were all these questions. Do I want to be one year alone? Do I want to give up my routine? Do I want to sleep nearly every day in another bed? Can I afford to take a year of from university? So many questions, and again, no answers. On that weekend my parents came and visited me. When I asked my mother what she would think about all that she just answered, “you’re already talking so long about this, you should do it”. When they flew back home I couldn’t concentrate on university, I just had to read things and think about my plans all the time. Two days later in my coffee break, just for fun, I looked up how much a flight to Peking from Germany would cost me. I found an offer for under 400 €. I couldn’t trust my eyes that it would be so cheap. As I kept on reading these blogs, I found this article in which the author wrote: “Just do it, don’t think too much, because then your fears will get bigger and you won’t do it anymore. Just do it, you won’t regret it. People regret the things they didn’t do in their life, not the ones they did”. And that was the moment of truth for me. My only thoughts were, “fuck it! If I don’t do it now I’ll never do it”. I just went straight back to the website and booked the flight for the 1. October 2018 from Frankfurt to Peking. Seconds later “Booking confirmation” pops up at my screen. I did it? Yes, I really did it! I got goosebumps all over my body. This moment was incredible, and I still get these goosebumps every time I think about it now.

Read in my next Blog post what happened after that, what were the first steps and what you have to consider when you’re planning your own trip.