Yes, you read that right. I’m the maverick American that decided to travel through the EU despite the risk of COVID.
I hadn’t planned on it. In fact, like most of the decisions that I’ve made in life, it was quite imprudent.
I was on the phone with one of my best friends, a guy who always seems to walk to the beat of his own drum, who told me that he was so happy to have left Los Angeles during the pandemic. He raved about his Summer in Lisbon and encouraged me, with an extensive list, of why I should leave Los Angeles too.
I’ll spare all of the gritty travel logistics for another time because there are quite a few to note. But spoiler alert: I’m writing from Lisbon. I decided at that moment to do something I hadn’t done in a long time — go off of my ‘’gut feeling.’’
We hung up the phone and I booked my ticket for three weeks out. It left me time to pack my overpriced Santa Monica apartment, move my things into storage, and prep myself for an indefinite trip.
My boss at the time who I was working part-time for, one of the most erratic people I’ve ever worked for, was letting some of his other employees work from out of the city. So when I proposed the idea of taking some of my administrative work abroad and he rejected it, mildly surprised but not entirely concerned since I had already purchased my ticket. I knew I had no other option but to leave. My parents both lectured me about leaving my part-time job in times of a global crisis and an unstable economy. But, I had a voice in my head reminding me that every ounce of effort and accomplishment I brought to the company was being entirely overlooked, under-compensated, and, truthfully, lacked any direction for growth. What was I working for? I was barely affording my overhead with my paychecks anyway. Why not leave my apartment and move somewhere far more affordable than Los Angeles? Possibly somewhere with an outdoor space. Somewhere that could offer me a little more creative stimulation since the lockdown had depleted all of it.
When the moment came and I arrived in Lisbon, my friend told me I owed him $50 for the trip he booked us to Italy in 5 days.
“Italy? What happened to Lisbon” I laughed.
“We’re going to Italy. Look at this villa I got for us”
“Ok. Why not?”
The white Trullo that we stayed in looked like something out of an Italian whimsical fairytale. It had pomegranate, almond, and lemon trees. Thick rosemary bushes lined the pea gravel entrances to the house and pool, antique wood dining tables for eight sat underneath the covered patios. It was a lush Italian farm. We spent a few weeks at the house where our time was occupied with reading, eating, mildly working, walking, and talking. It was the perfect getaway from a city that I needed.
We continued the trip driving through the Amalfi coast concluding our travels in Rome. While everyone planned to make the stopover for a day. I decided to ignore my ticket and stay until it felt right to leave. Sure a 6 pm curfew was being implemented on day 1 of my travels in Rome, but Rome was a city easy to justify spending your entire days out and your evenings in.
Every morning I’d wake up, make myself a hot cup of Italian coffee, and set out to walk around the city exploring either the Vatican Museum, Coliseum, Pantheon, Villa Borghese, or Treve Fountain without the line and the crowds that most people had only experienced them with. I had so many moments to sit in these museums one-on-one with the Caravaggios, Berninis, and Egyptian art and truly sit with it all admiring all of its intricacies without any sound or visual interruption.
That once in a lifetime moment reminded me of a few important things:
- Those who take risks are rewarded: I’m not specifically encouraging people to attempt traveling now. But this adage applies to anything in life. If you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone and try something that truly scares you, you’ll find rewards as large as the chances that you take. These may be personal, financial, or professional risks and rewards that you stumble upon but you have to switch it up and try.
2. Sometimes you have to listen to your intuition: To a logical thinking individual, this might not make any sense because all pros and cons have to be weighted-out before making any decisions. But sometimes there’s a lot of value to listening to yourself and trusting that if things go awry, you have the capabilities to fix them and make them work. I left my part-time job knowing that it was providing me no personal or professional value and it was worth exploring something more personally fulfilling.
3. Self-discovery requires stepping out of your routine and comfort zone: Most of my personal development has come from breaking out of my familiarity and stepping into new worlds. It comes from stripping myself of all my resources and seeing if I can put them back together in a different way. It’s terrifying, but if you trust yourself enough, you’ll surely be able to trust that you’re capable of doing it or rebuilding it again. Change your environment and watch your growth.
4. You are the creator of your own reality: I had quit my job back in November and decided to start a business. When the pandemic hit and thus, put my business to a halt, I suffered through a lot of anxiety and maybe even some mild depression. I lost my drive and creativity. When my friend called to tell me about his travels, he reminded me, I didn’t need to succumb to the idea that my business was over and I was a failure. I simply needed a reboot. I think that sometimes people become too comfortable with negative feelings, learning to live with it until it becomes apart of their identity. We all have varying degrees of loss but it’s a personal choice to get up and move on. I needed to take it upon myself to make myself happy and the life that I had created was no longer satisfying my appetite the way it had once had. I recognized that I needed a change and it was at my discretion to do it.
5. Be aware of who you surround yourself with: I credit this friend a lot for the life he’s made for himself and for the constant urge to keep staying stimulated and growing. He levels me up and encourages me to keep growing. Remember that you are the creator of your own world, but you’re also a reflection of who you hang with. Ask yourself every now and then, are the qualities of your friends what you desire to possess? Because, whether you acknowledge it or not, you’re being influenced by them.
*Please note: I very much understand the risks and severity of COVID and the risks I took in traveling are very real. However, I took and still take all safety precautions as suggested by the WHO & CDC: wearing masks, washing my hands frequently, and maintaining social distancing.
