Things have… changed.
This is a heavy first blog post, but I plan to use this blog to store my thoughts and experiences as I travel, so I might as well start by being completely honest.
Hey, for those of you who I don’t know, I’m Amber. I’m a 24-year-old Kiwi travelling solo around the world. As of writing this, I’ve been travelling for roughly two months. Initially, I had planned to update this blog with each new place I travelled to. However, as you’ll find out if you choose to read on, my travel experience has been anything but straightforward. Because of this, it’s taken me a long time to get this blog up and running.
When I first created the blog, it was going to be about the experiences of two Kiwi travellers; myself and my fiancé at the time. We planned for it to be a place to record our experiences, travel tips and budgeting tricks. We had been planning our trip for about 18 months, and during that time, we had gotten engaged, sold most of our stuff, booked flights and accommodation, resigned from our jobs and started saying goodbye to our friends and families.
Roughly a month before our departure date back in July, I ended the relationship. That decision completely changed my life and set me on an entirely new path. During the next two months, things changed rapidly. I gave our cat away to a new family, travelled around the North Island, met so many new people, went to my first festival, lost friends, experienced a lot of judgment from some people in my life, and felt the most alone I’ve ever felt. Although those few months were some of the hardest of my life, I honestly don’t regret anything. The experiences I went through caused me to grow and mature into who I’ve always meant to be. For all of the lows I went through, I went through even higher highs. I had so much fun and learnt a great deal about myself and how strong I truly am. I also gained clarity about what I want from my relationships with friends, family and a partner. I realised that I am no longer willing to settle for anything less than what I know I deserve in any of these relationships.
I knew I wanted to continue my travels despite splitting up with my ex from the beginning. The negative experiences I had with certain friends and family members during the following months only affirmed this choice. I needed a break from New Zealand and desperately needed to be out on my own. Travelling was the perfect excuse to get away from it all.
At the end of July, I began my solo travel in Canada. After Canada, I headed to Austria to start my travels in Europe. This has been my first solo trip, and as a girl who grew up always choosing to surround herself with people for fear of being alone, I’m proud of myself for choosing to continue with the trip. I have already learnt so much about who I am and who I want to be, and I am so excited to learn more.
Up until recently, I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue with this blog. I felt that after all of the emotional turmoil I’ve been through over the past few months, I wasn’t sure if I had any creative energy to dedicate towards writing. I was also concerned it was going to turn into a chore rather than something that I felt passionate about. However, many of the travellers I have met all seem to have some way of remembering their travels, whether it be by collecting magnets, making a travel Instagram page, writing a journal etc. After reflecting on this, I realised that I would regret not having something similar. I also realised the opportunity I have to use this blog for therapeutic purposes, as I am in the most transformative stage of my life, and I find writing to be incredibly beneficial for my mental health.
My goal for this blog has thus changed; I plan to use it as a travel journal. I want this to be a place to store my thoughts, feelings, and experiences and share photos whilst I discover who I truly am on my journey around the world.
I hope you enjoy following along x
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