Let Us Learn: 32 Things My Solo Travels Taught Me

After I graduated high school, I made the decision to take a gap year to travel, gain clarity for my future, and learn more about the world around me. I had never stepped out of my comfort zone to such an extreme before. I was a straight A student, I followed all of the rules, and I was on track to go straight to college on a full tuition scholarship, because that’s the track that society has set in place for high school graduates. Taking a gap year is normal in other countries, but in America it’s rather unconventional, and yet so important. I learned more about myself in four months than I had in four years of high school, and I returned home more changed than I could have ever imagined. As I sat in a coffee shop in Cusco, Peru on my last day in South America, I reflected on all of the people I had met, the times I had been forced into, situations outside of my comfort zone, and what it looked like for me to return home and interact with people whom I hadn’t spoken to in months. I began writing a list of everything I had learned, and everything I wanted to continue learning in the coming months and years.

1. Let us learn to connect with others.
2. Let us learn to observe the world with an unbiased eye.
3. Let us learn to open our minds to change.
4. Let us learn to love those around us no matter how poor, different, or broken.
5. Let us learn to appreciate small acts of kindness.
6. Let us learn to let go of small things and embrace the bigger picture.
7. Let us learn to look past status.
8. Let us learn to embrace different races and cultures.
9. Let us learn to see the whole person.
10. Let us learn to join in communal meals.
11. Let us learn to laugh without reserve.
12. Let us learn to dance unselfconsciously.
13. Let us learn to become comfortable in our own skin.
14. Let us learn to smile at strangers.
15. Let us learn how to properly listen.
16. Let us learn to sing terribly at the top of our lungs.
17. Let us learn to continually live spontaneously.
18. Let us learn the extreme importance of every passing moment.
19. Let us learn the power of written word.
20. Let us learn how to be vulnerable.
21. Let us learn to not be afraid of our brokenness.
22. Let us learn to be okay with solitude.
23. Let us learn the ways in which loneliness can shape us.
24. Let us learn to learn from every new experience.
25. Let us learn to taste the air in every new place.
26. Let us learn to frequently close our eyes and breathe deeply.
27. Let us learn to appreciate the familiar.
28. Let us learn to reach the tops of canyons and climb to the peaks of mountains.
29. Let us learn to not let our fears control us.
30. Let us learn to let go of the past, embrace the present, and revel in the future.
31. Let us learn to be the best version of ourselves.
32. But let us learn that the best version of ourselves is always yet to come.

It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of life, school, work, friends, family, and relationships. How often do we take the time to reflect on how we’re living, rather than what we’re doing? How often do we take the time to appreciate the relationships we have, and the opportunities we’re given? And when we are at our lowest points, how often do we ask for help and support, rather than wallowing in our brokenness alone? It is important to approach life always open to learning something new—open to change, open to new experiences and relationships.

Let us learn to learn.