How Travel Changed My Life

Buckle Up! Zoom! Hi! How are you? I hope you will enjoy this journey. Just call me Supermarkymacky! I'm your chauffeur for today. Let me take you back to the darkest days of my life and how travel became the only silver lining. Oops! No worries. I won't scare you. I will make sure it will be from bumpy to smooth ride. An inspiring trip to everyone. It was 2013 when I unintentionally became a breadwinner. I was the youngest child, just graduated and newbie in the corporate world. I felt that my dreams were fading fast away. My goals like to buy a house in my twenties, be a millionaire by the age of thirty and save a lot of money for retirement were dying. I didn't know what to do. I tried to refuse additional responsibilities many times. Depression started to control my emotions. Worries, insecurities and disappointments started to eat the whole me. If not overthinking, negative thinking became my pastime. My soul was divided and became a lonely man.
"Surround yourself with good people". Great thing someone said that to me and my friends knew the word "positivity". One day, they invited me to go to Boracay and I was really hesitant at first. I thought it would be better to just pay my bills than to go with them. Guess what happened? "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make life". It was totally perfect timing when I saw this online and that helped me decide to join them.

Boracay, Philippines

My perspective in life changed in just a snap after that getaway. Swimming under the crystal clear water of Puka Beach in Boracay gave temporary memory loss to my stress. I realized that there are problems that we can't fix right away or can never be solved. So, just relax and continue diving into the deep blue sea.

Burot Beach in Calatagan, Batangas

Travelling changed me from over-thinker to beach lover. From one unspoiled beach to another beach. Those white sands I touched, splashing waves I heard and dramatic sunset by the sea I witnessed helped me to stop for awhile and just enjoy life.

Aninuan Beach in Puerto Galera

I knew I didn't want to stop. Going to different meditative places like the Aninuan Beach in Puerto Galera changed me into a guy without expectations. I realized that disappointments will continue to exist if I will continue to put requirements in everything I do and later on may lead to severe depression. I learned to accept and move on.

Laiya Beach in San Juan, Batangas

I always ask myself "why I'm still single?". Travelling changed my often question into "why you need to be patient?". When you seat on the beach without doing anything from 5 am to 5 pm. You'll see how sun will rise and set. How morning will change into evening. I learned not to rush things and wait in God's timing. Maybe I'm so special. Just kidding!

Mt. Binacayan in Rodriguez, Rizal

Whether you like it to or not. Travelling sometimes is painful. That sweats from my first-ever mountain climbing will never be forgotten. It broke the record of my stereotyped getaway and it also gave me realization that there's a lot of things you can do aside from swimming when you travel. Like fishing, spelunking or just simply conversing with the locals. It reminds me that life has really no boundaries and there's no room to be lonely. 

Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila

Life! Oh what a wonderful life! Travelling really changed the whole me and gave me a reason to breath again. It's like the walls of Fort Santiago that continuously protect me from depression. For almost four years of chasing sadness away, I know I learned to be immune. I wholeheartedly embraced different issues in my life and I will make sure that next time I will just drink my problems away with coconut water under the sun while sunbathing on the beach in El Nido, Palawan.

I will continue to walk in Intramuros, hike again in the mountains of Montalban, experience hide and seek in the sunflower maze in Pangasinan, attend Burnham Park Run in Baguio, dive into one of a kind beaches in Palawan next month and sky dive in Pampanga's Hot Air Balloon Fiesta next year. Travelling changed my long term thinking. It allowed me to live my life because our days are numbered and our time is short. There you go! Our trip has ended and tomorrow is another great escape! 

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