Things I´ve learnt while traveling...

1. When you bring so few things with you, it is important that the things you do bring are beautiful and you enjoy them. Otherwise you will get tired of seeing them everyday.
2. Travel doesn´t need to be meticulously planned, and it often turns out better if it isn´t.
3. Travel is not a competition.
4. One of the few ways we actually learn anything is by simply observing.
5. People you meet while traveling are generally friendly and normal, and have more in common with you than you think. The only thing holding you back from talking to strangers is fear of what they´ll think of you.
6. The ability to read people is a useful necessity when traveling alone. Not just for security reasons, sometimes just to avoid being stuck in a boring conversation.
7. Language barriers are molehills, not mountains. And fun to overcome.
8. Being able to judge other people is hard. Harder is being able to judge yourself.
9. Loneliness happens. Sometimes its necessary, like being stuck in a room with yourself until one of you wins.
10. Age is a construct; some people fit the mould better than others. The most interesting people you meet while traveling are those who ignore the mould entirely.
11. You can always leave.

Now read again, substituting the world `travel´ for `life´.