Hello World!

My name is Alayna and if you’re wondering how I started traveling the globe read on…

The Beginning…

The global pandemic changed a lot of things in my life. I went from working at a Fortune 500 company with no plans of leaving to being furloughed. I was attending school full time, then shifted to online classes. I was actually appreciative at first of the break from society that quarantine allowed, but as the days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into an entire year, my motivation and appreciation began to dwindle. While my family and I worked to do our part by staying inside, being stuck in quarantine and doing the same thing day after day, naturally took an emotional toll on us all..

As I worked to complete my Master’s degree in isolation, I began to question what I really wanted in life, if I was really truly happy, where I wanted to live, did I pick the right degree, and why I couldn’t land a single job interview. Just existential things… This is when I realized I was having a quarter life crisis. I was about to turn 26, still lived at home, my little sister was moving to New York, I had no chance at advancing in the company I worked for while the pandemic raged on and it seemed as though everyone I knew had it more together than me.

“How about you take a trip? Pick somewhere, anywhere you’ve always wanted to see”

I continuously pondered these questions and others like them in my head, to the point where my mind started wandering into some dark places of self doubt and loathing. It was before my second birthday in quarantine, when my mom noticed the mental and physical changes in me. I wasn’t in the right mindset and it was becoming more and more clear to my family. She gently, yet assertively coaxed me into telling her my pain and when I finally did, she wanted to help me find a solution.

“How about you take a trip? Pick somewhere, anywhere you’ve always to see,” my mom finally told me after some contemplation. A trip sounded like a dream but through teary eyes I explained that it seemed too last minute to book a trip for the same year. I also had finances and the pandemic to consider.

After some more convincing, I began doing my research on the one place I had always wanted to see: Greece. Of course, who hasn’t seen Mamma Mia or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and wanted their own Greek adventure? But to me it was so much more than that. In addition to the beautiful beaches, pristine islands, and fun night life, there was a history and culture thousands of years old that I had only read about. I wanted to see where Socrates had his philosophical conversations and where Poseidon and Athena vied for control over the city of Athens. Greece was a place where my inner history buff could go crazy.

Two and a half months of research later and I finally took the leap and booked a month long trip that would take me to Greece and Italy. Three weeks in Greece and one in Italy. Once my trip was official, the company I worked for began recalling employees. I was left with an ultimatum: cancel my trip and return to work, or quit my job and travel. Of course, I made the decision to leave my job, which plagued me with self doubt at the time. Did I make the right choice? 

Well… almost a year later, I can say with all confidence that I did.

I Learned Invaluable Things on My Trip

I know it sounds cliché, a girl takes a trip and it changes her life, but that is exactly what happened when I went to Greece! And it’s all thanks to one of the many Greek tour guides I had met throughout my trip.

We bonded over a mutual fascination of history, art, culture, traveling, and architecture. I had never met anyone like him and was captivated by his stories of traveling the world. He’s seen so much while traveling and I was inspired by his amazing tales to go and have my own experiences around the world. He helped me realize there is so much that I want to see, explore and experience, and I have only just touched the surface!

After my tour of Greece and Italy came to a close, I had serious wanderlust. I extended my trip by two weeks, so I could explore more of Italy in Sicily. Then, I continued to extend my trip so I could eventually see Croatia, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. I couldn’t get enough!

I have always loved traveling, but had this notion that I had to get a great job FIRST, establish myself financially and professionally, and THEN find time travel. After my two month Europe trip, I realized that I held the power of my own life and there are no rules when it comes to living.

I also had the misconception that I needed to be super rich to travel. Well, it’s not true! I was able to see nine different countries in two months and learned how to do so on a budget AND in comfort.

I remember hearing something during my travels that really changed my perspective on things: “The ancient pharaohs who were buried with their vast wealth couldn’t take it with them to the afterlife, as they had once believed. That wealth was left behind on this Earth to be taken or put in a museum.”

Interpret it as you wish, but to me it means we can live our entire lives accumulating wealth until we die, but in the end it will all get left behind. There is no right and wrong way to live life, but living just to work for money and not enjoying life is really no life at all. We should try and seize every opportunity to live a life that will make us happy.

So that is what I have chosen to do. I want to explore the world and see the places I have always dreamed of. I don’t want to be stuck in one place too long and I want to experience things that will help me shape my overall outlook on the world. I really don’t believe I was put on this Earth to work, pay bills, and die. I believe there is something more meaningful out there, and I can’t wait to find it.

Real wealth, to me, is the abundance of time and freedom to be who you are or want to be. The ancient pharaohs may have left their wealth behind when they passed into the afterlife, but if I can take one thing with me when I depart, it will be contentment from a life well lived. THAT, I believe, is the real treasure.

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