My Story: 'Travelling Became A Priority, But Demands Blood And Sweat, And I Gave It My All'

Travelling started for me because of my father. He was an engineer and would always work for the airlines. Since he was a part of the airlines, he would get discounted tickets and many opportunities to travel. So, he always made it a point to take his family out to a new place every summer vacation. I remember going to Kenya when I was in fifth grade, the following year, we went to Mauritius and then Singapore. He wanted to show my brother, my mother and me the whole world, probably something he never got to see when he was our age. My journey and love for travel started in childhood because of my dad.

I Volunteered For Internships Across The World

As I grew up, I volunteered for a student exchange program that enabled me to travel to spread awareness and get to know the world and myself a bit better. I like to understand different cultures spread across the globe, and it makes me feel that the world is a much bigger place that we do not know yet. My first solo trip was for an internship in Brazil. After a lot of effort, I finally convinced my parents to send me to an offbeat country. However, a whole new scenario waited for me as I landed in Brazil because nobody spoke English there.

I worked with an NGO for eight weeks in Brazil, and during that time, I learned a lot about myself. I understood that I did not need luxury and could manage to sleep on people's bean bags in their homes. I did not bother sleeping in a bus while travelling; what mattered was getting to know more people, experiencing different cultures, learning new languages and making new friends. An extraordinary realization for me was that I could learn languages quickly, and in six weeks, I would start making small sentences without much effort.

Today, I Have Been To Over 40 Countries

When I came back, the only question staring at me in my face was what next! By now, travelling had become a priority for me, and I started to think of ways to travel the most. At that time, a friend told me that I could probably be a remotely good photographer, so I started there. Eventually, I found someone who would pay me for my pictures, which was so surprising. I started becoming a little independent financially. I still could not earn enough to manage everything, but I could fund my little trips.

Today, I have been to 40 countries, but there have been times when I have not travelled in 2 years. Then, I had money saved up, and whenever I would get off from my work, I would go! An individual's journey is not as glamourous as social media portrays it to be. For instance, it was not landing in India from Brazil one day and the next day, thinking about another place. It was a lot of saving up, hard work and over four years that enabled me to finally climb up the ladder and land myself in a position where travelling is much easier.

If you too have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com