Traveling as often as I do can be very rough on the body. It’s important to take care of yourself and listen to your body. Believe it or not, flying is one of my biggest fears. My body undergoes a lot of stress on travel days. As our mind and gut are very closely connected, the stress from travel can lead to major GI side effects. The low cabin air pressure also causes gas to expand in your belly and leads to extra bloat and discomfort. It’s best to limit your food intake before flying. My go-to travel snacks are a banana and roasted unsalted almonds.

I always travel with my kindle and journal. I love to journal about my travel stories. In Spain, I bought colored pencils and a sketchbook. With my lifestyle, it’s important for me to find hobbies during my alone time. I love to do yoga when I need some relaxation for my mind and body. As a child, I loved arts and crafts. I always thought I was a decently creative kid. I had a wild imagination. As I grew older, I convinced myself that I had lost that talent. We are busy human beings. We get lost in time, especially with the advancements of technology today. It’s so important to create the time in our lives to find that inner child again. To find the small things in life that bring us joy and confidence.

Traveling the world has allowed me to learn about different cultures, ways of living, new customs and traditions. I love to push myself to step out of my comfort zone and into the world of the locals. In doing this, I have become more open-minded. Diversity is what makes this world so beautiful. There are so many good people out there, yet we only hear about the bad ones on the news. I’ve become more and more empathetic to people. Never judge a book by its cover. We all have a story to tell, which makes everyone so unique and beautiful.

I made friends with a local tour guide that I was working with in Croatia. Her name is Ana. She was the most selfless woman I had met. She didn’t come from much, but you wouldn’t know it. Our guests took a day trip to Croatia and Ana was our tour guide. During the trip, we ran out of water on the bus. The guests were all very thirsty, so Ana used her tip money to buy them all waters. At the end of the program, I extended to do a solo trip to Croatia. Ana told me she had a campsite in Croatia and offered to pitch me a tent. I took up her offer and rented a car. I drove to a restaurant in a small town to meet her, her partner Nevijo, and her son. They ordered the most local Croatian cuisine and had me taste everything. After dinner, I followed them to their campsite. I ended up camping for 4 nights and living out of my rental car. I drove to nearby coastal towns during the day. I didn’t feel alone, because in the mornings I would walk a few feet to Ana’s cottage. She and Nevijo would make me coffee with bread. We would chat all morning on her front porch, until the afternoon. She told me what her life was like during the war and the struggles she had to face. Thanks to Ana, I learned so much about the Croatian culture.

Going on my first solo trip was out of my comfort zone. It’s so important to get out of your own head. Don’t let your “what if’s” consume you. So many of us are terrified of the unknown. If you live your life worrying about every terrible outcome, life will pass you by. My trip was not always smooth sailing. I made many mistakes, one being that I had to sleep on a park bench for half a day. I messed up booking my airbnb, once I got back into Slovenia. I was also scammed by the car rental company and charged a hefty fee. At the time, these incidents sucked. Looking back now, I’ve learned some great life lessons that I will never forget.

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.”

J.K. Rowling