The Beginning

Hmm. I've been debating on starting a travel blog. I looked up ways to start a blog for free, and now here I am. Let's see where this goes.

I'm currently writing this from my home in the U.S. For a long while, I've been very curious to see other cultures in the world. What is daily life like for a citizen in Europe? India? Australia? What if I was born there? Is the world really such a bad place as the the media makes it out to be? News channels seem to paint the world in a such a bad light.

I supposed there was only one way to find out. Go see it for myself. And that means traveling. From what I've read and researched, it doesn't have to be expensive. There are plenty of ways to make and save money even as you travel. It's a lot more flexible than people think. Thank goodness for the site http://nomadicmatt.com. That's where I first realized that an obscure 18-year-old like me can actually travel. It's actually possible! I can do it! I don't have to be filthy rich.

So I've decided to try becoming a nomad. It basically means traveling solo long term. It means having adventures and seeing places that have only previously existed in the imagination and on magazine pages. It means meeting such a diverse pool of interesting people from all walks of life with different stories and perspectives. It means broadening your own perspective, learning new things and growing so much as a person. It means developing self-reliance and independence. As a nomad, there's nobody watching out for you except yourself.

At least that's what I've heard. I have yet to gain firsthand experience, but it sounds right up my alley.

The other day, some family friends came over and I started talking to them about my plans to travel. I told them I was thinking of starting in Europe, since English is widely spoken there and it is more traveler-friendly. They suggested to me doing something called El Camino de Santiago. A 500 mile walk across Spain from east to west, with hostels and places to stay everywhere.

So after they left, I did my research on it, and decided that's the path I would take! I have signed myself up to walk 500 miles in a foreign country. All my belongings will be with me in a large backpack. And from what I've read online, there will be other travelers on the road as well. I wonder what kind of people I'll meet? With at least a whole month to spend on the trail, the possibilities are almost endless.

Just a couple nights ago, I booked a plane to Bilbao, Spain. It's official. I have two weeks to prepare.

But this planning has given me time to realize the reality of what I'm facing. To be frank, I'm a freshly graduated high school student and I've never flown out of the country on my own before. I've never lived on my own, let alone across an entire OCEAN. How will I get around? What about finances? Am I in way over my head?

Yeah, I suppose I am. I'll admit it. I'm quite scared and intimidated. But I've read about hordes of 18 year-olds leaving the home and traveling solo. If they can do it, why can't I?

Despite the fears of everything that could go wrong, I am not backing down. I want to develop that self-reliance. I want to trust myself to get around, to survive on my own. I want to see more of this big, wide, world that I live in.