Just book a ticket and leave

MANILA, Philippines - When I turned 21 last year, I promised myself to do three things: lose weight, dye my hair pink, and see London before the world (supposedly) ends. Halfway through the year, I got a job so I couldn’t touch my hair. I tortured myself for a few months with this scary diet that almost didn’t involve any carbs but I eventually gave up on that after a trip to McDonald’s on a silly whim. Long story short: I’m still a fatso.

I was also gonna give up on trying for a vacation to Europe, as my original plans to go fell through. Then I had caught wind of this really great promo that was selling dirt-cheap tickets to Europe in December.

The ticket sale only lasted for 24 hours, so I had to do a million things within that span of time. My mother was naturally hesitant to let me travel on my own during the holidays. There was also the worry that I would be purchasing a ticket without securing a visa, which is the worst thing one can do.

After reading that the airline would refund my ticket if I got denied a visa, something in my gut seemed to click in place. (Or maybe it was indigestion. I don’t know.) It was totally unlike me to be so impulsive, but I borrowed my mother’s credit card and planned to gallivant all over four European cities: Paris, Copenhagen, Stavshult and London.

I gotta admit, though, I was a bit nervous about applying for a visa. I had been granted a Schengen visa for a school trip two years ago, but it was my first time to apply for a British visa. I am also probably the worst visa candidate you can think of. I’m a single woman, a fresh graduate, and I had nothing tying me down to the Philippines except for a vast shoe collection (which to me was a sure sign that I would return. Like, duh.)

Thankfully, the good people at the embassies saw some sense and realized that I’m not actually a mail- order bride. The next part, of course, is where I rode a plane and jetted off to Europe for a month.

I don’t know how this story strikes anyone who doesn’t know me personally, but it’s safe to assume that aside from worrying about whether or not I would get my visas, everything else was easy, breezy Cover Girl. Alas, not at all.

I came from a loving family, but not a wealthy one. I had to support myself for this trip; my parents paid for my visa fees and my grandparents gave me some pocket money, but everything else was on me. I paid — and am still paying — for my ticket as well as for my daily expenses while I was there.

Europe on a tight budget is not easy, but it’s totally possible. I’m thankful because I had so many wonderful people help me throughout the whole thing. My friend Jamie let me crash at her sweet Swedish cottage for a week where we ate caviar like Asian princesses. My aunt and her family let me occupy their lovely English house for more than three weeks and fed me like a pig before a roast.

There were a lot of other places that I wanted to visit and things I wanted to buy, but wasn’t able to go because I wanted to be as thrifty as possible. But I don’t regret it because I got to fulfill my dream. I wanted to travel and I did it. I’m poor as hell now but I’ve now come back home with a wealth of experience and stories that I could never trade for a hefty bank account.

I wouldn’t outright suggest this track of life choices because it’s totally unconventional. Someone more practical would probably spend the money on a down payment for a car instead. Someone more creative would probably use the money to buy cocaine and gunpowder. Different strokes for different folks, I always say.

From my perspective, though, I’ll only be in my twenties once. I don’t want to reach 30 and regret that I didn’t get to spend New Year’s at the Thames, jumping all over the place with a can of Pimm’s. I would want to see what snow is like in Hässleholm or what the smell of the sea is like by the coast of Copenhagen.

I have dreamt, all my young life, to see things beyond the pages of books and the stories of those before me. I am proud to say that I’m .0001% done with exploring the world and I’ve still got a lifetime to see the rest. The feeling of knowing that you can pack up your entire life in a suitcase and that when you get off that plane, you will have traveled to not just another place but another time?

It’s kind of amazing.

Traveling taught me a lot of things about myself. I learned that I’m a lot braver than I thought I was, and that I’m also not as brave as I thought I was. I’ve become smarter and more open to new ideas. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it’s the best kind of education I have ever received.

But I wouldn’t say that one can only gain such a worldly point of view from roaming the globe. If you want to change your life, don’t just travel. Do the cheesiest thing that you could ever do, and that’s to do everything humanly possible to make your dreams happen.

That dream could keep you as far from home or closer to it than ever, but whatever it is, I say work on it.