Do Not Let Anyone Tell You Traveling isn’t Worth the Money

So I’m sitting here trying to think of an awesome first sentence to lure you into hearing about my study abroad trip to Costa Rica. I really wanted to think of something catchy so I could share the experience of a lifetime and inspire you to try something new!

I could try to inspire you with a group of words about my beautiful nature experiences and wonderfully extended beach times. Or I could try to inspire you by telling you about all the life-changing/inspiring people I met. Although, all those experiences could fill this page, I’m going to inspire you by saying one word about this trip-that word is revelation.

So much was revealed to me during this trip-about myself, about the world, and about humanity. If you go on a trip outside of your box I know that you will have the same revelation. It’s not the type of revelation that will change you forever (there’s only one of those and that’s the revelation of our good Lord, but that’s for another post). It is the type of revelation that will help you gain yourself!

I hope you’re starting to get excited because we have a ride ahead of us! I want to make you so excited that the next thing you decide to do is look into either studying abroad or which country you’re getting ready to travel to! Because come on..it’s about time you take that vacation off of work and gain some of your independence back!

So here comes the down part of that ride I was talking about earlier:

As much fun as waking up at 630am to jump in the shower and get ready for work then drive your robot self to work and sit at your desk until 5pm and drive your robot self back home sounds , I think it’s time for a revelation in that of itself! We are robots!! This is terrible, it’s time to stand up for who you are! What you do does not make you who you are!

This is where we really need to tune in and realize that yes, we all have responsibilities, but we have come to a point where we have trapped ourselves. People who are trapped are considered people in jail!

We have made our time jailed-we are always talking about how we don’t have enough time, why?

Because it’s all trapped up in your jail cell (aka your office). We all talk about addictions as something so horrible for your mind. Being addicted to money is one that is not talked about enough!! If you are addicted to money I will be covering that in another blog post so stay tuned. It is crazy how you can lose yourself over money. Well it’s time to take a step back and find yourself again!

I’m sorry if I am coming off aggressive, however, in order to find yourself again you have to figure out how you lost yourself in the first place, I simply want to try and help you figure that out (contact me personally if you truly feel lost and depressed and I will gladly be here to talk to you-Erika.peters17@gmail.com)

Now-that being said traveling or studying abroad is only one option to try and find yourself again. Because I have had experience in this area I am going to tell you just how you can find yourself through a traveling experience.

Traveling by yourself may be one of the most intimidating beginnings you may ever have. I remember the week before I left I don’t think I slept all but 16 hours in one week (for those of you that don’t know me this is crazy because I need my beauty sleep). I was getting ready to leave what I’ve been familiar with all my life to embark on a 4 month trip to some foreign country.

So for those of you wanting to study abroad or embark on a long trip-don’t worry it is perfectly normal to feel absolutely insane the week or so before!

The first day I got there I met my host family and could not speak a lick of Spanish and vise versa, they could not speak a lick of English either. You can imagine how intimidated I was-so much so that I was holding my tears back during the longest dinner of my life.

The city I pulled into was the most horrid looking city I had ever seen my whole life-I’m pretty sure I was walking into my death sentence (I have an absolute love and appreciation for that city now).

The first revelation I had was that I needed to open my eyes- literally I feel that I have been walking around this world with my eyes completely shut and the world had been blacked out up until this point! To see how simple these people lived at first was saddening to me. However, the longer I lived down there the more I realized how much happier they are compared to the people back in the states!

If you’re suffering with severe sadness or blues it’s probably because you have been trying to make yourself look so good on paper that you forget to tune into your true inner-self(leaning how to tune into your inner-self will also be another great advice post that I can’t wait to share!)

In Costa Rica, they don’t care how much money you make, where you live, or what you do. They don’t care what you look like on paper. They genuinely care about your well-being.

Don’t get me wrong-feeling accomplished is a great feeling, but it’s so temporary, once you accomplish one thing you’re immedately onto the next.

I want to promise you that traveling for an extended period would be the time of your life where you can accomplish the most. Some of the things I accomplished are:

1. Learned how to connect with God

2. Learned how to meditate

3. Found my inner-being(this is so important!!)

4. Found a newborn love for others

5. Learned how to stay humble

These are not only accomplishments, but they are accomplishments that will last for an eternity! How much more valuable than a work or home project that got done over the years!

I want you to have the same type of accomplishments! Simply because they are so good for you and your well-being! We have been having a health-revelation lately in the states- it’s time we start focusing on our mind health as well (Coming in another post).

Costa Rica has inspired me to start writing- to start giving advice- to realize that I am a voice to be heard and not just another person on this earth! To start learning to think more positively (learning to think more positively and replace negative thoughts is coming in another blog)!

Everyone should feel this valuable!! If you have studied abroad before or are planning to study abroad I would love to hear about it! Leave your comments and concerns! ¡Pura Vida!

#regularworkout #regularpractice #healthyhabits