Blog Post #50: One Year On the Road

So somehow I've been traveling for exactly one year now...

Alex and I one year ago, before embarking on our "European" adventure. First stop Dublin, Ireland.
If only we knew how successfully life changing this trip would be..

Wow. Time flies, doesn't it? Before I left I obviously had no idea how long I'd be gone for, but in my mind I was content with one or two years of being somewhere else in the world. I didn't know exactly where I'd end up, but had a rough idea of working somewhere in Europe for an extended period of time. In the back of my mind I had the crazy idea of being able to make this a 'round the world' trip but didn't think I was capable of planning it, let alone making it financially feasible. But somehow I've ended up in New Zealand one year later and I'm still traveling.

I think it's also important to mention that it hasn't been a year of full and complete happiness every day all the time. I've missed funerals, weddings, family holidays, and almost everyone's birthday. These have all been reality checks to me, a reminder that life still obviously continues back home and nothing is put on pause while I'm gone. To be gone for a year can mean a lot of sacrifice. I've had so many people ask me how much I miss my family and friends back home, and these are some of the main motivators for my travels to continue, so I can make it back to see them again.

Six months into the trip... passing through Dubai on the way to India.

You have to ask yourself if it's worth it, being gone for this long. For some people it might not be which is perfectly fine. One year is a long time and I don't recommend for everyone to travel for this long. But for me, it's been worth the sacrifice. The countless stories, experiences, and people that I've met in the past year have done nothing more than help me become a better and more capable person. I'm very thankful for that and this incredible opportunity that I've had to travel for this long. 

I'm not sure if I'll travel on a single trip for this long again, but I can definitely say that there's no way I can settle for one or two week vacations anymore. This past year has sort of transformed the idea of traveling for me. It's not a hobby or a fun thing to do in my free time. For me, traveling has become a lifestyle, a mentality, and I don't want that to change. Any future trips I take will probably need to be at least a month or two in order to get the experience that I want out of it, and there's plenty of places left to go.

This photo was taken 3 days ago at one of New Zealand's many ski resorts, just outside Queenstown.

I will also admit that I'm definitely surprised I've been able to keep this blog running for a year now. Believe it or not, it's actually pretty difficult to stay on top of something like this and write about the highlights of my experiences while trying to have them and plan them at the same time. But I'm really happy and proud that I've been able to keep it going, as I'm usually not great at documenting stuff properly. One year and 50 blog posts later and I'm still writing..

I want to thank everyone who's been reading the blog so far over the past year. I write this mostly for you guys so you can stay updated on what I'm doing and know that I'm still alive.

There will be more posts to come of course, as I continue my travels on the south Island of New Zealand. But I will say that after one year of traveling with not much left between here and home and not much money left in the bank, my adventure is coming to an end... more to come on that but until then, enjoy! One year in the books!