4 Things that I graduated from since I started traveling

I have to admit. I've never really bought anything expensive for myself. So if you were to ask me, most of my pricey stuff were given as gifts by my family and friends. So if it's not food, all of my savings goes directly to my travel fund. Believe it or not, I've graduated from obtaining and/or keeping 'material things' as investing on trips and journeying off to different places has given me more fulfillment in life than the former.

So what have I graduated from since I started traveling extensively? I've marked off...

My Inhibitions

“Cities were always like people, showing their varying personalities to the traveler. Depending on the city and on the traveler, there might begin a mutual love, or dislike, friendship, or enmity. Where one city will rise a certain individual to glory, it will destroy another who is not suited to its personality. Only through travel can we know where we belong or not, where we are loved and where we are rejected.” 
― Roman Payne

I am an introvert. Well, I still am. But I've managed to control it through the years. I mostly travel with my family and close friends. So meeting new people on the road wasn't an option to me from the very beginning (due to personal reasons). But all that's changed when I finally broke free from my shell. That's when I gradually pushed myself to meet and talk to new individuals, which lead me to experience bigger opportunities and new found friendships. I enjoyed being in the company of like-minded people when I started to leave behind my inhibitions. Since then, my network has expanded.


Fighting through my inhibitions has given me the opportunity to meet some of the smartest and humblest people today. I've come to call them as my closest friends, which is a blessing and gift all together.

My Fears

"Do one thing everyday that scares you." 
- Eleanor Roosevelt

I've yet to conquer all of my fears. But I've managed to cross-out a few a long the way, like getting myself inside a raft that trailed a wild river and then drowning minutes later, walking through a 38-story building with only a harness wrapped around my body, being enveloped in total darkness and more...



The Corporate World

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again - to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”  
― Pico Iyer

I worked for two big fashion companies before calling it quits. As a Clothing Technology major (aka Fashion Design), I eventually realized that 'Fashion' was not my 'Passion'. I just didn't see myself working in a corporate office for the years to come. So that's when I started working as a Freelance Writer. I soon realized that I was made for this job. It has been a good 3 years of 'ups and downs' with this career. But it has certainly given me the freedom to work and travel in my own accord.  



The Unnecessary Things 

“The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of your life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to experience an exotic landscape, to risk the unknown..” 
― Paul Theroux 

I stopped asking for money after I graduated from college. So every expense that came after was made obtainable from my personal savings. And when I started traveling extensively, I soon gave up my need to shop for unnecessary things. This made me more thrifty in the long run, which was a God-sent since I now prefer purchasing discounted airline tickets, on-sale gears and comfy accommodations. I would trade buying an iPad (which retails for 20K) if it meant exploring the world.


A Biyahera's Lesson In Life

“The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” 
― Christopher McCandless






Explore & Be Free!


Mai - Budget Biyahera

BS Clothing Technology
University of the Philippines - Diliman


PTB2


This post is my entry to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers' Blog Carnival for March 2013 with the theme "Things you graduated from after becoming a traveler".  Kaiz Galang hosts this edition of the blog carnival. 

You can visit Estan Cabigas' Langyaw to see the archive of Pinoy Travel Bloggers' Blog Carnival! :)

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39 comments

  1. uy iska ka pala! hihi. at CHE ka pa. sa likod lang ng CED :)

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  2. Hi @twitter-498901072:disqus! :) Yes, I am! Sorry, ano ang CED -- Child Dev ba ito? :)

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  3. Congratulations Graduate!

    Budget Biyahera - Bachelor of Fine Arts in Saving Money

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  4. Can't wait to see your compilation, Kaiz! :)

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  5. Congrats Mai, for being PTB University Class of 2013's Second Honorable Mention! The learnings and education we get from traveling is worth the sacrifice of the unnecessary!!!

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  6. Astig! Maraming akong friends/kakilala na nagEduc. :)

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  7. graduate school ako ngayon dun. nung undergrad sa UPM ako :)

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  8. It's actually great travelling with family, but it's more challenging when you travel alone or with other people :) I too stopped buying unnecessary things so I can save even more :) Congrats by the way :)

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  9. I think one of the more important things in traveling is letting your fears and inhibitions go to enjoy the place better.

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  10. Traveling with family is one thing and traveling alone is a different story. There, FEAR comes in. I am no fan of traveling, but I love listening to friends travel adventures stories. Weird ko, but I am a homebody type of person.

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  11. It's always a constant battle whenever I would travel... then again, I always surpass the fears and inhibitions with much success! =P

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  12. No problem in being a homebody. I'm also the same. But only when it comes to roaming the metro. :P

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  13. ohhh .. i feel you on this one... i also stop buying unnecessary stuff after i started traveling .. i always remind my self to buy only the need and refuse on the wants ... save for the travel fund ...

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  14. True! Did you give up on anything particular? :)

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  15. It gets more satisfying once you get to past the fears and inhibitions.

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  16. woah.. you have a lovely passion. i have always wanted to travel. but my current finances wont suffice. i admire you for getting out of the work you dont have the passion to something that you really love doing. ^___^

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  17. Traveling can definitely teach you many insights that you can learn directly from a teacher or inside the classroom.

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  18. I wish I could say it is easy for me to just let go and travel but that has always been my wish when I was younger. Things have changed and I've got a different perspective. I still love hearing about people fulfilling their travel dreams. It is also great that you've learned to conquer your fears and slowly coming out of being an introvert into a person willing to make new friends on the road :)

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  19. Kudos to you Mai.


    As I'd already overcome my inhibitions and my fears, its the corporate world that prevents me (for now) to travel as most of my money comes from where I work. Thinking of switching to freelance in the next few years.

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  20. Ang galing! Your fears did not stop you from living your "dream life." :)

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  21. Great job on this Mai. I, personally, hated the fact that I was stuck like a prisoner, working in a cubicle from 9 to 5, for more than 6 years. My wife and I took a huge risk and just started working from home, and here we are, happier than ever before - all the time in our hands, without having to leave our children to other people.

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  22. Have you tried participating like amazing race competition? I love traveling (wala nga lang pera)haha soon I need to budget this and consider it as one of my goals.

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  23. This is indeed a good read. For what it's worth, i think we should always do the things that makes us happy. Although for some people, options to quit the corporate world may not be easily decided.

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  24. I totally agree with you that travelling gives a different kind of satisfaction and happiness than buying gadgets or any other material things.

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  25. It was a difficult choice, Lilpink. But it was harder to stay in a job that I grew to despise each and everyday. Life is a risk. You just have to take the plunge and continue to hope that you've chosen the right path. :)

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  26. Still an introvert, Joy! But when I'm needed to mingle, I try my best to not be KJ.. hehe! Hope you at least get to travel somewhere nice with your family. :)

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  27. Good things come to those who wait. Soon enough, you'll get to do some freelancing na din. :)

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  28. It's the best job yet, right? Getting to work on your own accord whilst having your kids at arms reach. I don't have kids but I can definitely sense your happiness with what you've decided in life. :)

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  29. Oh, believe me, I have considered it. But I suck at directions, plus I don't know how to drive a car. :/

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  30. I know. I'm just glad I had the chance to do all these. :)

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  31. You're the first female I know that has a great passion for traveling. You gave up and compromised almost everything... that's so brave you. Cheers to more biyahera adventures :)

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