Leaving the Past Behind: Why You Should Let Go While You Travel

There are dozens of reasons I love to travel: new sites, new sounds, new tastes, new places and faces, the thrill of doing something different and the desire to see every square inch of this beautiful planet we call home. Travel is amazing and they’re all valid points.

That being said, there’s also another reason I travel. It’s probably not something a lot of people have discussed, or even really given a name to, however it’s there all the same. When we travel, we not only leave our homes behind but also our past selves.

One of my favorite reasons to travel is that travel lets me be the person I want to be. The moment I step off a plane or a train, a bus or a boat I’m a new person. I open myself to whatever the world throws at me and without a past that future is wide open. I can be a rock climber, a sailor, a jet setter or a scroungy backpacker and no one in the world can say different.

At home we often live the life we think others want us to live.

Back home, we’re constantly surrounded by our past. Family who have known us since birth and believe they know what’s best for us. Friends we’ve had since youth who frown when we do something dangerous or unbecoming. Acquaintances who we fear will see us walking around town looking grubby or not in the best light. Work buddies who might think less of us because we’re walking around the dollar store with a full basket of dollar goods.