My own little piece of 'EAT PRAY LOVE'

As cliché as it may sound, reading 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert, as well as meeting an English backpacker last year in my home town propelled me into making what could quite possibly have been the best decision of my life so far.

This decision was to take a year off study after finishing High School last year and travel the world, predominately solo. Often called a 'Gap Year', however this term doesn't sit that well with me. It suggests that you are merely doing something to fill in a void, or 'gap' within your life. That you are just filling in time before you realise what you want to do.

Initially, I thought this was what I was doing, taking some time to find myself and work out what I want. However, I've learned through my experiences over the past five and a half months while I've been travelling that I already knew exactly who I was, and what I wanted, it was just hidden beneath societies expectations for someone of my age. It turns out that I just needed time to be with myself, not only to work out whom I was and what I wanted, but also to discover how strong and confident I could be, I am. Sometimes when we are constantly surrounded by people we get lazy, and tend to rely on them too much. It isn't until you have no one to lean on that your true traits come to the surface.

Not even a year ago the idea of travelling the world solo honestly scared me so much, despite me planning to do this very thing. I never would have thought I would feel comfortable being completely out of my comfort zone, and yet here I am sitting in Lima, Peru writing these very words.

Isn't that the really beautiful thing about life? The fact that we can grow and evolve in a positive way so quickly. When we put ourselves outside of our comfort zones our personal growth is accelerated to new levels.

I feel blessed to have experienced so many things over the past five and a half months that have pushed me out of my little bubble of comfort.

A few examples include; living with a local family in Bali, Indonesia for three months, getting sick in Bali and staying in hospital for three days with an IV drip in (not many nineteen year olds have had to make a travel insurance claim), becoming infatuated with every beautiful ethnic man I seen, booking my own international flights and organising all my visas/foreign currencies, and budgeting for eight months of travel, having my room flooded at my guesthouse in Thailand getting all my stuff wet and managing to remain calm, having a mental breakdown in front of everyone whilst on a cycling group tour in Vietnam, and managing to injure myself in some way in almost every country I go.

These experiences have helped me become stronger, and more independent as a young woman. If I had have stayed at home in Australia and not chosen to travel the world solo for almost a year then I wouldn't have had these experiences, and learnt the lessons that I have as a result.

I was a very shy child, and still can be quite shy when meeting people for the first time, but travelling has made me more outgoing and confident. As exhausting as it can be I love communicating with people, whether they are locals in the place I am visiting, or fellow travellers.

I've learnt how to budget, and how important it is to spend my money on experiences rather than material possessions, as well as how we vote for what we believe in with our dollar/baht/rupiah/peso etc.

One of the most important lessons I've learnt while travelling is the importance in being flexible. Things aren't always going to go your way, whether you are at home, or on the other side of the world. If you are flexible you don't become annoyed, or stressed, by small imperfections that are a part of daily life regardless of where in the world you are.

Most of all, I've learnt to just get out there and explore this magnificent world. Don't take anyone's word for it, get out there and explore for yourself. You don't know when you won't have the chance to do this, so while you can just go for it. And, don't wait for someone to go with you; if I did I would still be in Australia.