Straight from college, I landed my very first corporate job and never stopped working ever since. Not until I was retrenched last year. During my six years of being employed, I will see travel pictures of my friends and relatives and has always felt envious. To not feel miserable, I say to myself that my lack of free time is the reason I don’t travel. I have a career to build after all.
And then came my retrenchment. I was left with a decent amount of fund and plenty of time to finally travel. Still, I have not gone thru my travel plans. I later on learned that the absence of travel in my life is not because of lack of time or even money… but it is my lack of will to just pack my bag and go.
But I woke up one day and told myself, cliché as it may sound, ‘that it is now or never’. My old self would have asked someone to go with me – my boyfriend, my friend, my sister. But when I decided that I wanted to just go, people around me started approaching me and ask me if they can go instead of me asking them to go with me. It’s like a magnetic force. I sincerely hope I am exuding the free-spirit vibe.
Ever since the start of this year, two months after I lost my job, I’ve been to one international destination – South Korea, with no travel guide just one travel buddy, and has explored my very own country, Philippines: sailed on a ship to reach one local but unadulterated island with no one by myself, been to multiple resorts in my province and nearby provinces with my friends, multiple beaches with my GoPro, and several ‘I’ll just pack my bag and go’ unplanned trips with whoever is ready to go with me. Surprisingly, the fund has been sufficient, the timing was all perfect and most importantly my will to just go has not diminished at all, instead it is being refueled after every trip.
My liberty from my own binding thought that I don’t have the time to travel has been proven false when I finally have the time but I still don’t have the will. I found my independence from the wrong thought and asked myself to just do it ‘cause that’s what I want. My social media feed has been filled with salt water, sand, sea shells and breath taking views. My laptop is filled with itineraries and destination targets. My friends started asking me for suggestion where to go, and even asked me to go with them.
I stopped asking why I have to go and explore, I just did. I don’t have stress to deal with to say I need to go. I don’t have the monthly expected salary to say I am entitled ‘cause I worked hard for it. I just did.
Freedom from excuses not to go, or independence from the need to have a reason to go has made me realize that I wanted to do this more than anything else.
I could definitely travel more. I can definitely go further not because I’ll have the money or time. I can ‘cause I will and that’s coming from the heart.
About the Author:
Annabelle “Belle” Lingao is a 26-year old Filipina with a ‘to-do’ list to complete before getting hitched this year. She has been enjoying her free time ever since losing her corporate job. The negative has turned into positive in her life and she’s more than ready to take over the world.
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