My big travel dream: a year around the world

There are times when life puts you face to face with the possibility of choosing big, or following the inertia that routine tends to impose when you don't lift your gaze. I chose the former.

I was walking out of the auditorium where, seconds earlier, I had just passed my Law degree exam. The last months preparing for that test and the decision not to pursue a career as a lawyer — despite the effort I was putting in — were a hard blow to those years of long days of dedication and study. There was no turning back. The decision had already been made. I was leaving.

The dream

Months earlier, on an ordinary day, I walked up to Fran (my current wife) and with a guilty voice asked her: "Do you want to come with me and travel the world for a year?"

It was madness, a fantasy. She thought I was joking. A few seconds passed before her smile faded as she realized this was not a game. My face stayed serious, and my eyes sparkled with passion. She suddenly asked:

"Are you serious?"

Something told me that all I needed was for her to say she was willing to go with me, and I would find a way to leave everything behind and set out to explore the most impressive corners of the world. When the fire truly drives you to fulfill travel dreams, nothing stops it.

— And where are we going to get the money? — Fran asked.
— I've been working for months to save up what the flights will cost — I answered.
— And when that runs out?
— We'll find a way, we'll work along the route, we'll stay with people we know… I swear we'll figure it out.

Fran was now more serious than ever. The decision I had already made while studying was now taking shape for her too, transforming into one of those great crossroads that can change your life forever.

It was an ordinary day that would become part of our life's history. Not only because the trip was final, but also because my wife was becoming my travel companion. A true milestone in our relationship.

There were many more "buts," many more doubts, many more fears. But we were now together embarked on our big travel dream — an adventure that knew no turning back.

Exam day

When those professors scrutinized me before a large audience hungry for blood, while I tried to survive one of the most stressful and difficult tests a person can go through, my mind was already in the temples of Bali, the fields of England, the Muslim calls to prayer, and Thai food. My journey had already begun long before that test, long before setting foot in an airport, many years earlier when I first imagined discovering the world.

Suddenly I heard those words I will never forget: "Congratulations, colleague!" But to me they sounded more like: "Safe travels, Carlos!"

I became aware of the tie constricting my neck — an era was closing. The map carpeted my steps and I was already heading toward my dreams. Without yet having absorbed the fact, I smiled and walked out of that auditorium.

A dream fulfilled

When the plane took off toward Lisbon, Fran and I looked at each other, embraced, and in silence — despite all the doubts and fears — began to cry with happiness.

"This is how it feels to fulfill a dream. This is how happiness feels," she said. The best adventure of our lives was beginning.