Reminiscing on a life-changing trip

Welcome to Curious G — a weekly email about personal growth and lifestyle design.

Today, I’m trying something new (again), inspired by a conversation with a good friend and reader, Ben. I’ll be combining the “lifestyle design” and “what I’m thinking” sections to offer a write-up plus relevant takeaways. Let me know what you think!

Let’s get curious 👇

What I’m Thinking

Every trip I take reignites my passion for travel, sparking thoughts of future destinations and memories made.

As I reminisce, one trip stands out: my solo trip to Mexico City.

Not just for the destination, but the total experience.

Last week, as I was lying in bed, I pulled out my travel journal from the trip. As I read, the imagery and sensations came rushing back.

I could feel the excitement of discovery. And now, in hindsight, I can see the change this trip fostered in me.

I want to share an excerpt from that journal that stood out to me:

“It’s been interesting interacting with various people in the hostel. I am one of the rare few who is on a trip that lasts less than a month. Through my conversation with Ahmad, I’ve learned that this experience and any solo travel experience are really what you make it. There are no rules to this thing.

For a while, I had always thought that I wanted to have some extended period of time to just fuck off and travel all over the world and do whatever I wanted and I think a certain element of that was a desire to run away. I’ve realized that I have no reason to run away.

I have a family and a friend group back home that I love and that I’m excited to be with and spend time with and to have in my life. But I also do love the experience of travel and I feel very grateful that I can go on a trip like this and have a great time and see and experience new things, places, people, and ideas, but then still be just as excited to go back home. I’ll be leaving this trip with a very different understanding of how I want to live and travel.”

This trip was life-changing in three key ways:

1. Self-nurturing — This was my second solo trip, but quite a step up from my first (a weekend in Chincoteague, Virginia). Exploring Mexico City on my own allowed me to absorb and experience a new culture with little outside influence. Trips like these, but also any time I have to use at my sole discretion, are important opportunities to nurture myself — to cultivate self-love and self-awareness. These trips also provide a confidence boost, as I demonstrate my ability to figure things out on my own, which leads me to...

2. Conquering fears — I was nervous about traveling to a foreign country alone. But, that was the point of this trip. I did it and I enjoyed it. I didn’t let the fear of the experience prevent me from pursuing it. And the momentum has continued since then. The more I can conquer my fears to pursue my goals, the more fulfilling my life will be.

3. Annual commitment — After my first two solo trips, I committed to doing one of these per year. I plan to alternate between international and domestic to make the execution easier. This reflection reminds me, I still have to get mine in for 2024! I’d like to do a quick ski weekend this year — likely at Windham Mountain Club since it’s within reasonable driving distance and it’s on the IKON Pass.

Want to read more about this trip? Click here.

What I’m Watching

Gentrification is a word that comes up a lot in cities. I’ve always understood it to be a bad thing, but never really understood the history, root causes, or potential solutions. This video was both an informative and entertaining explanation of this phenomenon by highlighting the effects of the recent influx of digital nomads into Mexico City.

Recommendation Zone: