One thing I love about travelling is that it has the ability to heal a person. At least that’s what it did for me.
At the beginning of last year I experienced the heartbreak of my first ever break-up. I’d been with this person for a long time and from a very young age, and I’d never experienced this sort of pain before…
I was convinced that i was never going to be happy again and that my life was a total mess. I had dug myself into this deep hole that I didn’t want to get out of. I stopped eating, stopped hanging out with my friends (especially the ones that were associated with my ex) and I was genuinely so unhappy. To be honest, I was depressed. About 6 months after the break-up, I was still feeling the same.
A few of my friends from school at the time were travelling around Europe (lucky ducks!). I had a 2 week break from Uni coming up and I had enough savings to be able to go on a little holiday. So that’s what i did! It was purely a coincidence that at the same time i was going to be on holidays that my friends where travelling to Greece. I thought “Thats it! I’m going!”
I booked my flight, took time off work and left! I was scared at the start because I’d never travelled by myself before and the thought of catching a 20-something hour flight by myself was definitely a bit daunting. However, everything worked out and I arrived in Athens with my friends waiting for me at the airport.
We travelled to Mykonos, Ios, Santorini and Crete. It was the most amazing two weeks of my life. The weather was perfect, i was surrounded by beautiful friends and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Each island was my favourite for different reasons. Mykonos: the shopping. Ios: The party island for us young travellers. Santorini: the view is literally a postcard – it is unbelievable! Crete: Our very interesting, scary, hilarious road trip across one side of the island to the other in a hire car, just to get to a beach we had heard about. Don’t even get me started on the delicious food.
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It might sound silly but I truly believe that this trip is what mended my heart. It was now full of happiness and love, which was something that had been missing for a while. I’m sure you have all suffered some kind of heartbreak where you are just broken inside and think that nothing can fix it, or if you haven’t, you would probably know someone who has.
I want you to know that it does get better. Travelling, even if it is only for a short period of time, can help a lot. If i could give any advice to anyone who is hurting or going through a break up, try and go on a holiday for at least a week.
RELATED: TRAVEL ESSENTIALS FOR GREECE
This pain that you feel is only temporary. Take the plunge, pack a bag and just GO! You will thank me later, i promise!
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