What I’ve Learned Traveling to 50 Countries

I officially hit my 50th country this year – South Korea. Reaching this milestone has been a dream of mine for a very long time. Traveling has taught me so much, and I want to share the lessons I’ve gathered along the way from my journeys all over the world.

My hope is that what I’ve learned will inspire you too. Even if you never step on a plane or cross an ocean, these lessons can be lived anywhere: staying open to the unknown, practicing compassion, and finding presence in the moment. Travel is really about perspective — and perspective is something we can choose daily.

The First Trip That Changed Everything

When I was 17 years old, I left the country for the first time. My mom had been saving for over a year- setting aside pieces of her paycheck and using her yearly bonus so that we could take a trip together to Italy. I will forever be grateful for her sacrifice and vision, because that experience expanded my perspective and cracked something open inside me.

Standing in Rome, looking up at the Colosseum’s ancient arches, I realized there was so much more to see, so much more to learn, so much more to explore in this vast and mysterious world.

That trip inspired me. I knew I wanted to keep traveling, to keep discovering. By the age of 21, I visited 21 countries. And now reaching 50 countries, I can say with certainty: travel has been one of my greatest teachers in life.

Searching for Meaning

Ever since I was little, I have been asking questions: What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? Why is there good, and why is there evil? That search for meaning has followed me into every stage of my life and into every country I have visited.

Travel has shown me that the world is both breathtakingly beautiful and unbearably brutal. It is full of love and wonder, and it is also full of pain and injustice. Both exist side by side, and somehow, they shape our experience of being alive. As Anthony Bourdain said, “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you.” Rumi wrote, “Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Life gives you exactly what you need to evolve.” The contrasts — joy and grief, love and loss — remind us that it’s often our challenges that grow us the most.

Philosophers and spiritual teachers across time remind us that life is short and fragile. Marcus Aurelius wrote, “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do, say, and think.” Travel keeps that truth alive in me. Every day is a roulette table of joy, sorrow, luck, and love. For some, the choices are abundant; for others, survival is the only option. And yet, no matter where I’ve been, I’ve found connection.

That is what keeps me searching. Not for answers carved in stone, but for experiences that remind me of the beauty of this fleeting moment — and the importance of compassion, curiosity, and presence while we are here.

The Universal Language of Connection

Travel has taught me that while languages, religions, and customs differ, humanity is universal. I may not always understand the words, but I can share a smile, clink a glass, laugh to the same beat of music. Connection doesn’t always require translation — it happens in gestures, food, and the energy of being fully present together.

One night in Kyoto, I felt this truth come alive. In a small bar, as deep house music pulsed through the room, I laughed with strangers over sake. No one spoke English, yet we understood each other perfectly. The music, the laughter, the shared drink — that was our common language. That’s what travel does: it strips away the barriers and reminds us that at the core, we are the same.

What 50 Countries Have Taught Me

Travel has taught me that unknowing is sacred. The farther I go, the more I realize how little I truly know. Instead of closing me off, that humility keeps me open — flexible, curious, and willing to let the world surprise me.

It has taught me that compassion is everything. When you’ve looked into the lives of others, eaten at their tables, and listened to their stories, your heart can’t help but expand. You carry their joys and struggles with you, and it changes how you move through the world.

And it has taught me that presence is the real gift. The moments I return to most aren’t the ones staged for a perfect photo — they’re the ones where I closed my eyes and took a mental snapshot: laughter echoing in a crowded bar, the warmth of a stranger’s kindness, the feeling of being fully alive in a single fleeting instant.

Closing the Circle

Fifty countries later, I have learned that travel is not about conquering the world, but about letting the world change you. It is about saying yes to uncertainty, yes to connection, yes to the beauty and pain that make us human.

I give thanks to my mom, who made that trip to Italy possible. To the people who invited me on trips, opening doors to places I might never have gone on my own. To my ex-boyfriend, who took me all over the world and gave me some of the most incredible travel memories. To my fiancé Ryan, who loves to travel with me and is always down to go on adventures with me. All of these people have been pivotal in shaping the way I see the world.

To the strangers who became friends for a night. To the teachers who never knew they were teaching me. To the world itself, which continues to expand my soul and remind me that the search itself is the meaning.

Because after 50 countries, I know this much: it’s not the destination — it’s the journey.