Finding my best self through travel

Travel is about becoming more myself

Dear reader,

When I moved back to the U.S. from Paris at the end of 2017, one of my friends jokingly referred to me as “French Aliyah” due to my updated wardrobe. But while my appearance had changed, so much more had as well.

French Aliyah was more free. She lived in the center of Paris and could hop on a train to anywhere else in the city or across Europe. She could walk out her front door to a grocery store or a boulangerie or a bookstore (in English or French!). She was confident, navigating a professional environment in her second language and even mentoring junior students and making friends. She got to have fun experiences and basically reinvent herself in a new country. She learned how to have fun and be spontaneous - deciding one day you’re moving across the ocean will do that to a person.

7 years later, I still think that French Aliyah is the best version of me.

Travel always has had a way of bringing out the best in me. I previously wrote about my travel superpower and why this is such a good fit of hobby for me:

I grew up traveling. Somewhere, there’s a photo of baby Aliyah climbing Mt. Rainier in Washington state. When I was about 4, Brussels sprouts became my favorite food after trying them from Pike Place Market in Seattle. For most of my life, travel has been associated with personal growth and positive experiences.

I’d love to hear about your earliest travel memory! Let me know by replying to this email or leaving a comment.

Last year, I dove back into travel headfirst after several years on pause due to the pandemic. I had planned to scale back this year, thinking I would have scratched the itch with two trips to France and numerous personal and work trips domestically.

Instead, I actually opened the floodgates.

Last year taught me a lot about myself

I’m a lot more relaxed when I have no agenda. In my day-to-day life (and I’m sure yours as well) lots of things have to happen. On one of my least busy days last week, I still had to change out of pajamas, eat something (though both of my meals came from Doordash), and join a few virtual meetings at work.

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

I intentionally do not make plans on vacation, in order to live, even if just for a weekend or a week, in my ideal flow state. And what this permits is a lot of activities that I struggle with on the regular. I wake up when and start my day whenever my body decides it’s the right time, so I am more refreshed. I’m sure I will stumble upon interesting food while I’m walking around the city, so I stress less about what and when to eat. I’m more adventurous, since I make the most of the limited time I have in each location versus thinking I have all the time in the world to explore close to home.

I rewrote the last paragraph several times to make it about more. I don’t want to think about being less stressed, but instead, calmer. Not less tired, but more refreshed. It is important to me that travel remains a source of positivity and personal fulfillment and being my best self.

Prioritizing travel last year was revelatory for me, and that makes it hard to go back. So, I’m not!

Instead, I’m continuing to prioritize time spent being the best version of myself.

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P.S.: Did you know I am available to plan your next trip? I specialize in travel planning for busy young professionals. Learn more!