It happened to me already that I was asked this question: “why are you doing this?” It also happened to me already that I, too, in times of distress, asked myself this question: “Why am I doing this?” Yes, I’m talking about traveling, being on a journey. And, well, I do have the answer.

In one of my favourite manga and anime series, Attack on Titan, it is said:

“…people were born to be free… …there’s flaming water and land of ice… anyone who saw those things would be the freest person in the world!”

Hmmm… That sounds like quite a good answer itself, if you ask me… Let’s dig deeper.

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Of course, not everybody travels for the sake of being free. Some of us travel to get education, some of us travel to educate.
Some of us travel to volunteer (or volunteer to travel?). Some of us travel to just relax, some of us travel to work.
Some of us travel to learn. Some of us travel to help.
Some of us travel to experience the cultures, others to experience the nature.
Some of us travel to meet people, some of us travel to be alone.
Some of us travel to find themselves… some of us travel to run away from themselves… and these are just a few examples of why people decide to leave the walls of their home and/or their comfort zone.

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I, myself, came to somehow combining all of these.

Since I left home in 2016 (I’m going back to visit Czech, my family and friends this year, yay! Can’t wait, it’s been two years!), I went to school, I volunteered, I had time to relax, I worked, I learned so much that I can’t even write it all down.

I got into situations when I was able to help – even if it was only by showing the way to get somewhere or if it involved the need to use my first-aid kit.

I lived with people from quite different cultures and saw places and nature so beautiful it brought me to tears.

I met so many new people, heard so many life stories.

I was alone; awfully alone, beautifully alone and I lost and found myself more times than I can count (and I know even more times are to come), learning something new about myself and finding another piece to complete the puzzle every single time.

And, with all of this, I was free. The freest I have been since I was born.

But still, there’s something missing, some important part… Why do I desire so much to get to know this world – not from media and all the lies they tell us, but personally, by myself?

♥

In the same manga/anime which I referred to in the beginning of this article, you can hear this question being asked:
“You knew the hell was one step behind the walls. So why did you still want to go?!
“Because I was born into this world,” is the answer.

(Now, these of you who know this manga/anime also know that they were in a quite worse situation than what have ever happened to most of us, but the answer is still just brilliant and very accurate.)

And so, if you ask me, why am I doing this,… why do I want the see it all, why am I willing to go through times of distress, why am I willing to take risks, why did I decide to constantly cross the boundaries and walls surrounding my comfort zone,… why am I so eager to see and get to know the world,… My answer will be

“BECAUSE I WAS BORN INTO THIS WORLD.”

Thank you, Eren Jaeger, for these words. (And yes, thank you, Hajime Isayama, for giving the world this nerve-wrecking gem which Attack on Titan is!)