Pressing Pause on My Best Year

Time is a funny and fickle thing isn't it? When you want it to go slow it usually flies by, especially during vacations and great weather. When you want it to go quicker it usually comes to a grinding halt. Like at night when you can't sleep or during an insanely boring work meeting. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could bend time to our will? If I could I know exactly what I would do, I would pause time in the year 2013.

It was 2013, I had just graduated from my bachelor degree the year before, I had worked my ass of at a local McDonalds for a year to save enough money and I was heading towards freedom. I booked a one-way ticket in what would become a year long trip to South America. Safe to say, 2013 was an awesome year for me and I would not mind being stuck in that year for quite a while!

One of the most memorable things was that I had decided to travel solo. I love my friends, but the idea of seeing one of them 24/7 for a year was just too much. It turned out that going solo was the best decision I could have ever made. I met loads of people, sometimes also solo travellers, sometimes whole groups, like the picture above at the salt flats in Bolivia. Travelling solo also allowed me to change my plans at any time without having to consult anyone, so if somebody would ask me where I was going next I could change my plans on the spot.

In the end I got to meet so many amazing people, had learned to speak Spanish and seen incredible parts of the world without having felt lonely for one second of it. If I could manipulate time I would go back to 2013 and do it all over again in slow motion. Though in all fairness, it would also not be great if it had no end whatsoever, I guess that is the thing about time, if it didn't move at all anymore you would also get bored!

Anyway I would recommend everyone to make a trip of a lifetime, it can also be achieved by poor burger flipping students like myself and it will be the experience of your life!