Melanie Korsten
When I was a little girl, I was painfully shy. I never felt comfortable with others. I never felt like I belonged anywhere. It was as if I was missing a crucial piece that allowed to me to fit in, whereas everyone around me seemingly had it.
Somehow, somewhere along my way in life, everything began to change. I started to make conscious choices to thrust myself out into the world. I didn’t want to be scared or alone forever. I didn’t want to miss experiences. I wanted to find a home, to be happy, to feel unique, but accepted. Besides, I figured I couldn’t feel more out of sorts doing something new, that I didn’t already feel doing nothing.What changed? I began to travel. I felt out of place, even with those I had known my whole life, why not try experiencing the world immersed in the new?
I traveled to get lost in the new. I put myself out there, even if I’m afraid at first, because traveling to me is to find a bit of myself, anew, each trip. Through the journeys, the stories, the sights, the smells, the people of new places, I discover we are all struggling. Yet, I have discovered we all have something to offer also. We all feel strong, happy, and awkward, all the same, and yet differently. We all stumble, yet discover and grow simultaneously.
I still get lost as much as I can and discover new people, places, and experiences. I thought over the years, I would find the mental mechanisms to assimilate to daily life, but what I found and still find again has been so much more. Awe. Joy. Pain. Beauty. Weakness. Sometimes amazing, while at other times awkward-like me. And that’s okay.
To me, to be comfortable and really know yourself...sometimes you just have to get lost. I travel to get lost. I travel to find myself, anew. To love myself, and this stunning world we live in.
| Originally from Chicago, IL, USA | 38 | Currently in Scottsdale, AZ, USA |