May 6, 2017
By Monica Corredor
How travel changed my life in Italy
Looking at my laptop, while my equally shocked co-workers stared at me, my eyes let out a few tears. I felt disappointed and upset. These people were underestimating my effort and all the hard work of these years. My ego was disillusioned and hurt, even though I already knew I would be part of the laid-off group. Part of an inevitable outcome.
However, my heart felt completely different. It was relieved, but I was so overwhelmed by emotions that I couldn’t understand it. By then, I was tired, disinterested and frustrated with my job, but I didn’t have the courage to resign before. After all, that’s what happens when we don’t make the right decision; life makes it for us. Fear holds us back from taking different paths and listening to our inner voice, but the truth is that fear is always there. We just need to be brave and take a small step ahead. The rewards will come without realizing.
For the first time, I would follow my heart. No more jobs, no more eight to six schedules. I was going to travel and invest the money I had saved for years on my passion; traveling, exploring new places, interacting with new cultures, connecting with the energy of lovely cities and landscapes, feeling the happiness that only traveling gives me, and filling my soul with learning.
I experienced the same curiosity which drives me every time I embark on a new journey. My call was to travel, and for some unknown reason, to start writing. I took a course on travel writing and began my expedition. I chose Europe, Chile, Australia and New Zealand as the destinations that would welcome me for five months.
That’s how I changed computers for shovels and wheelbarrows, and co-workers for beautiful rescued horses in Tuscany, helping as a volunteer for a month. At the end of these weeks, my hands were sore and Ola, a loving mare, had broken my toe. However, my heart was full of the gratitude and love that these animals gave me. Feeling excited for the trips to come, the journey continued.
I listened to an incredibly charismatic Pope at a mass in Rome. I was transported to medieval times through the enthusiasm and solemnity of one of the oldest traditions in Sienna, the Palio. I trekked the hills that join the picturesque and colorful fishing villages of Cinque Terre, bordering the stunning coastline of the Ligurian Sea. The Tuscan skies dyed with a mix of lavender, coral and orange rays, and the vast reddish sun which was gently lost on the horizon, blinded my eyes and gave my memory the best collection of sunsets. I drove through the green hills full of cone-shaped cypress trees, and the vineyards that led me to the charming medieval towns of Tuscany. I navigated the second largest river in Europe, the Danube, skirting the eclectic architecture of Buda and Pest. I walked over the romantic Ponte Vecchio for the third time in one of my favorite cities, and I returned to the capital that I love the most and with which I am most grateful, my beautiful London.
I saw one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve ever seen at Petrohue Falls, walked the Osorno Volcano and was struck by the peace of nature at Cruce de Lagos in Chile. I snorkeled at the world’s largest coral reef in Australia. I felt as euphoric as a five-year-old kid at Christmas when I saw humpback whales breaching in the beautiful beaches of Australia, curious dolphins near our boat in the spectacular Fiordland in New Zealand, the first seal walking by the beach, and also when I witnessed how penguins went back home in the dark.
These were incredible experiences, but even better was my growth and evolution throughout the journey. I met amazing and inspiring people along the way and learned a lot about myself. My new passions and life purposes were unveiled. I understood that our heart always tells the truth, and when we are so brave to follow it, we change, transforming life around us as well. Limits are only fears in disguise. All we have to do is make decisions, overcoming fear and taking action to follow our dreams as we listen to the signals around us.
Looking at my laptop, with a smile on my face and inner confidence, full of projects, new ideas, and creating writing pieces, I begin my new life. Planning my new trip and day-dreaming, I realize that traveling is more than exploring. It is a door which opens to enrich our souls. Don’t postpone your inner calling, just live now!
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About the Author
Monica Corredor
Colombian currently based in Bogota, but always willing to go wherever my passion for traveling takes me. I am a dreamer, completely passionate about exploring the world, but most of all about the freedom and transformation that it comprises. So far, I have visited 25 countries in 4 continents and lived in London for a while, all experiences that have truly changed my life. Writing for me is catharsis, freedom, creation, inspiration, dedication and emotion.