Newsletter (2017-2018) May 2018 Newsletter | Page 13

A photo Qinxin took in Venice, Italy, while traveling solo.
foreign country that was remote from the place the possibility of not being accompanied by any-
that I had just worked at fitting into without the one the entire way. We must learn to appreciate
companionship of any friends sounded chal- solitude and the time we spend with only our-
lenging for me at that time, but turned out to be selves. When looking at what we write down,
an unregrettable decision in my university life.
we may figure out the ‘idealized’ version of our
stories.
During the experience, I have learnt that two
useful tools to help achieve self-exploration are There is a saying “never forget why you start-
writing and traveling. Writing about traveling ed”. However, clinging to one’s original beliefs
experiences can be a narrative manifestation of without stepping forward to embrace possible
a physical act. We are mirrored in the accounts changes may hamper the process of making
composed through descriptions of our thoughts. progress. In addition to not forgetting why we
When we look back on our life experiences, we started, I think it is more important to keep look-
often are not searching for a perfect record of ing at the changes taking place within ourselves
what has exactly happened to us. On the con- and never stop improving our understanding of
trary, we depict stories in a manner that matches ourselves.
how we want the record to be. Reading my own
travel diary, I realized that I have always real-
ly enjoyed time alone without any disturbance
from others. I used to believe that I needed a lot
of people around me to not feel isolated. How-
ever, spending time with myself could also be a
joyful way through which I can become clearer
Qinxin is currently ma-
about my goals. I began to realize that I should
joring in English Educa-
not be constrained to my comfort zone. Instead,
tion. She likes observing
it is meaningful to take on challenging tasks
things around her and
when I have time and energy to try to achieve
recording them through
them. The account of my first experience trav-
photography and writing.
eling alone helped me to understand that trav-
eling solo can be an escape from everyday life,
showing us places with different cultures with
11
MAY 2018