The Traveler Stories Series. Each month we feature a story (or two) written by another fellow traveler, who shares with us their own travel experiences. This month, meet Courtney, the beautiful Aussie travel blogger at Courty Stelt. She shares with us her love story with travel and the 5 ways in which travel has changed her life. 

It was about halfway across the Pacific Ocean when I realised what I’d done.

I was nineteen, and I was en-route to Los Angeles on my first real travel experience; I’d hopped on a plane, all by myself, to live and work in an American summer camp for 4 months. I’d only just left my family home, and I could barely wash my own clothes, let alone look after other people’s children all day every day.

What if it was a huge mistake, and I ended up on the first flight back to Australia, with my tail between my legs? I’d never travelled alone before, nor had I ever been overseas, and I was full of a sickening, nervous excitement that just didn’t feel right.

Luckily, my freak-out only lasted a couple of hours, and by the time I landed I was so captivated at the new world surrounding me that I’d completely forgotten about my fears. I’ll never forget that feeling – the moment I realised that I had discovered something that would change my life forever.

Travel has since become my first true love, and it has also become my favourite teacher in the school of life. Here are 5 ways travel has changed my life:

#1: Travel has taught me independence

Growing up in a small town on the Far South Coast of NSW in Australia, I always relied on my family and friends to support me through the tough times. With plenty of schoolmates and an extended family that stretched across half the town, I never lacked in finding someone to look after me, to allow me to lean on them in times of need, or to simply keep me company when I was lonely.

The first thing I learnt from that first trip overseas was independence. I wasn’t used to doing things on my own, and by stepping out of my comfort zone by going on my first overseas trip alone made me feel liberated and free. I realised that I was capable of looking after myself, no matter what.

#2: Travel has allowed me to experience new cultures

Travel is all about experiencing new cultures, and seeing firsthand how the rest of the world live. We are all humans, but we couldn’t be more different in our ways of life. For example, we all eat and drink, and obviously, we all need to use the bathroom.

I’ll never forget the first time I visited Asia and experienced their squat toilets. Terrified about falling in, it took me a few encounters before I worked up the courage to give it a go. Afterwards, I couldn’t stop laughing at how unusual it was, and I’m sure there are Asian travellers who visit my home country and laugh at how unusual our toilets must seem.

Learning about new cultures is what helps us understand them, and if everyone understood each other’s cultures, perhaps there wouldn’t be as much hate in our beautiful world.

#3: Travel has given me new friendships

Some of the most incredible friendships that I have developed over the past few years have been because of my travel experiences. I’ve met some of my closest friends in hostels, at summer camp orientation, during study abroad, or simply out and about during an adventure. There are countless faces without names forever embedded in my memory, from

the couple I shared steins with at my hostel in Munich during Oktoberfest to the two girls I joined for a picnic at an outdoor cinema in Houston. I may not remember their names, but I’ll never forget the experiences we shared. As for those I have kept in touch with, our friendship is cemented by the memories of the best days of our life, and the special bond we share through our love of adventure will never be forgotten.

#4: Travel has given me a passion

There’s something amazing about having passion.

Regardless of what you’re passionate about, the feeling you get when you immerse yourself in something you love is the closest thing to pure happiness. If my love for travel didn’t exist, I honestly don’t know what else I would be doing. I have other interests, but travel is something so close to my heart that it is often all I can think about. It’s something I truly enjoy, and something I am so passionate about that I have dedicated all my spare time to creating a blog about it!

#5: Travel has made me humble

Finally, one of the most important ways travel has changed my life is that is has made me a much more humble person.

While I am in no way wealthy nor well-off by Western terms, it wasn’t until I travelled to countries poorer than my own that I realised how truly lucky I was. Riding horses through La Romana in the Dominican Republic and watching people scavenge through the waste to find food or other items of value almost broke my heart. Being harassed by spruikers who wandered the beaches in Seminyak, Bali, trying to sell cheap bracelets and sarongs may have seemed annoying at the time, but at the end of the day, they were just trying to feed their families.

It is only when you put yourself in their shoes that you are able to comprehend the struggles that so many people in our world endure every day, and it is then when you are able to appreciate your own way of life.

Travel has changed my life in many ways, but the biggest change has been to my perspective. My perspective on life, and on the world, will forever be challenged by the experiences that I undertake through my travels. For that, I will always be grateful.