''I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.”

It's all too easy to get lost in the deep, vicious cycle of misery when posed with the question; 'what is the purpose in life?', it takes us down a narrow, windy road to the edge of a peer and the truth is, I don't think we will ever know- so why do we bother asking? Instead of wasting hours pondering on such infinite question, perhaps we should spend more time looking into the life we have and just simply, as cliche would have it, live it!

The most important thing to remember in life, is to do what makes YOU happy. YOU, not your mother or your partner or your peers or even the State, but you. It is all too easy to become engrossed in fulfilling everyone else's ideologies for you and yes, your parents want the best for you, but sometimes they need to have it reiterated to them that what is best for you is being a children's entertainer for Butlins instead of going to Med school, or that travelling to some of the most dangerous parts of the world to understand the bigger picture (whatever that may be), is more appealing to you than endlessly long days in an office, encased by the security of a routine and the monotony of your vacant colleagues.

Amazon Pink River Dolphin swimming at the point where 'El Rio Somiloes' and 'El Rio Negro' meet

The world is your oyster and I can't advocate enough how important it is to try and find your sense of adventure (not that I'm telling you what to do...rather just giving my person perspective on the matter!!!), but we have to find something that makes us feel so alive, so in the moment and so ready for the next big rush. Something to strive to and get excited about, something to wake up to every morning- even if you aren't aware of what that something actually is, you can sense it inside as the anticipation builds up. Climb the mountain, write your book, swim that ocean or jump out of that plane. Carpe diem and Joie de Vivre. 

We are often ignorant to the realities of the world- either we choose not to see or we are driven away from what needs to be seen, so it's important to stop and for a second look around, SEE what is around you and then carry on, whether in the same direction as you were already travelling or towards what you see.

For me, the appeal of travel blossomed slightly later than I would have liked, now looking back in hindsight. I think I've always known it's for me though, for as long as I can remember, my favourite thing to do was go to the airport- I loved (and still do!) nothing more than getting on a plane, especially when we were going to somewhere new, because it was unknown and exciting and most importantly, it was away from what I know. I remember the one time I felt least enthused was one year when we were returning to the same destination- a beach holiday and it felt like I was just going to a warmer, Spanish speaking version of my home town. The last time I went away was just over a year ago to Germany and walking around Hamburg- getting lost in the stalls of the Christmas markets, joining in on the atmosphere whilst drinking 'Gluhwein' and finally getting to put my grammatically incorrect German into practice was so much fun. Quite honestly, coming home was the worst thing ever. So that was when I realised I wanted to travel- it was in that moment I decided I couldn't just sit around and do what everyone else wanted because the joy of experiencing new things, places and people was far more appealing than any debt filled degree awaiting me upon my return.

The view from Hamburg Harbour (Dec 2012)

So now I'm a waitress, I work my butt off every week, smiling like a Cheshire cat and relentlessly saying 'Yes of course Sir/Madam', whilst I watch the tips pour into my savings and the satisfaction I get each time never fades, because I'm three months away from getting away to go on my biggest adventure in my life and it's both terrifying and absolutely enthralling.

So, Vagabound diaries is a collection of posts, thoughts, photos and videos to hopefully inspire you to find your inner calling whilst allowing me to collate all my thoughts and keep my inspiration going and to always remind myself that what I'm doing is finding out what I'm made of, finding out what the rest of the world is like and the first thing in my short lifetime that I've done something for myself without having the decision made for me.