Ever since I can remember I loved going away for family holidays, packing the car, leaving the house and heading down to Rhosneigr in Wales for the whole summer. I think deep down I always knew I wanted to see more of the world. I knew I wanted to go travelling and experience more of life.
The first opportunity I had was after finishing school. I wanted a break from studying and doing what other people wanted me to do. I wanted a selfish year, a year of me just doing what I wanted to do. A year of fun, a year of adventure!
Leaving school at eighteen I honestly thought I knew it all! However, when you travel and go backpacking it opens your eyes to life, to different cultures, to different people, to different view points and perspectives. You learn to appreciate its a big wide world out there and the more you travel, the more you realise how much more there is to see.
Travel becomes addictive and having the opportunity to travel at such a young age, opened my eyes and helped me to become a more well rounded individual. I had new experiences, visited places I’d only read about in books. I tried exotic foods with weird names. I gained so much in that year, and it gave me a great gift. It gave me confidence in me and the decisions I made. I learnt what motivated me, what inspired me, which in turn made me more self aware.
In the future if I was ever in challenging situations. I’d think about what I’d achieved during my travels, I’d say to myself, “Come on Sarah if you can get from Honk Kong, through South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand and home again in one piece. You’ve got this! You can do this!”