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Good riddance to 2023!
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
#recap #2023 #travel #travelblogger #adventure
2023 is coming to an end – finally! The year that was expected to be the best one so far, for me at least, turned out to be devastatingly bad. Life kept tossing epic challenges with no point, one after another. Most of these were once-in-a-lifetime obstacles, that occur to one out of ten people. And life kept tossing them at me, as if they were blessings. And I can focus on each ordeal, as it came and as I moved through it. But I won’t! This post is not about whining, it’s about picking yourself up when you fall, even when the required amount of energy is unreasonably high. I will choose to stick to nice things only – and see how far it pushes me through the year.
Everything started in an adventurous spirit, and planning some travels to Rome, including its micro-nations – the Vatican and the Order of Malta. It was followed by a visit to an unexpected gem called Andorra, and my favorite city on Earth – Barcelona. I want to say there was a break in travels, but that would be far from truth. I did keep on traveling, just to places I was more used to. There was a magnificent three-part summer vacation, followed by a period of relaxing spa-weekends. At this point, life was keeping me lying on the floor, kicking me from every side. But I decided to pick myself up! Some of my best friends were getting married mid-year, and I was lucky to visit their ceremonies and become even closer with them. I can’t say it is what kept me going, but it most certainly was a great reason for me to get up and move on.
In the meantime, I created a healthy morning routine, started meditating, and read a bunch of meaningful and smart books. Without that, I’m pretty sure anyone normal in my situation would’ve hanged themselves. Fortunately (and Fortune favors the Courageous), I don’t appear to be normal. But what really helped me pull through happened in mid-August. I became dad of two beautiful cats – Cleopatra and Caesar. A huge shoutout goes to my friend Miloš for gifting me the babies. My advice for anyone not having it good in life – get a furry friend. Putting someone’s needs in front of your own (in a healthy way!) will help you push through any ordeal.
Although I do not travel with my furry babies (yet), this reminded me how important it is to take care of myself and go see the unexplored remainder of our planet. I booked a trip to Nice for my birthday, as well as the Principality of Monaco – which you read about in my previous two posts. For someone who’d spent 32 years not understanding their origins, it was an absolute win to discover myself in three completely different places, finally comprehending my own talents and potential. It was also an endless source of relief and happiness to completely treat my cat Caesar from parasites and save him from digestive disorder they were creating. At this point, I’d grown a shell against life’s tortures. Ordeals used to be my nightmare – now they dream of me, in their sleep paralysis.
Hitting 33 off, what did I decide to do first? Why, scatter around a couple of trips, of course! I was planning to travel to Klagenfurt (Austria), Sarajevo again (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Sofia (Bulgaria). I traded these “everyday” destinations for a lengthy and expensive, but more than worth it trip to Brussels, Antwerp, Eindhoven, Bratislava and Vienna. I already have quite a number of friends and coworkers unable to wait for my blog posts from these cities, knowing how exhilarated I got traveling there and seeing everything in my wake. I can say with certainty you will love my whole series, including (but not limited to) a post about Brussels, Antwerp, Chocolate Nation (museum in Antwerp), Bratislava, Vienna Christmas markets, Brussels vs. Rome (believe it or not), Bratislava vs. Prague, as well as a few top 10’s.
Have I forgotten to mention a trip I call Tour de Montenegro? Yes, this was my first time in Montenegro, since it became an independent country. This trip was actually to help settle a good friend’s family affair. I learnt how to drive over any terrain. And that’s everything I will remember from this trip. Seeing how people live in Podgorica, the capital, and how different everything is in the mountains, and even more different near the sea – I kept thinking how did they ever choose not to be independent? Oh well, I believe now Montenegro can say every living human on Earth has visited it.
And what have I been doing lately? After coming back from my last trip, December 16th, I decided there were going to be no more trips this year! What’s too much is simply too much. On the other hand, late January and mid-February are already calling me. In the meantime, I levelled up to the maximum level of Booking.com. This is going to make my travels, and the adventures of anyone tagging along, easier and cheaper to organize. For anyone who decides to book any stays, feel free to reach out, for organizational help.
To sum everything up, although the year was most probably the most difficult one, I lived through, it was also quite a successful one, and such a rollercoaster ride. Have I forgotten to mention my blogging one-year anniversary earlier this month? Also, my idea was to hit the target of 33 at 33 (33 countries before 33 years of age). A few years back, during a certain pandemic, a friend told me he was trying to reach 30 by 30. At this time, I was at perhaps 14 countries, at the age of 29. The reason why I couldn’t achieve 33 at 33 was because I visited the 33rd and 34th country on the same day. And I visited one more in the meantime. This happened on December 9th – and if I’m not mistaken, that coincides with the day I launched my blog – so from now on, that will be another day to celebrate every year!
The point of this post was not to wrap up the year, or to rant. The point was to share the love for myself, so that each of you can love yourselves! Loving oneself is not egotistical – it is necessary. For if you don’t love yourself, who will? Also, if you don’t love your own self, how can you love anyone else? At the beginning, we are all let go to ourselves, as the only person we can love and be loved by. We can’t expect any love or appreciation from anyone else at this point. And no one can expect it from us. However, fortunately, the more we love ourselves, the more we will love everyone else, and the more we will influence others to love themselves. And Fortune does favor the Courageous, so be brave to love yourself and everyone around you! Shoutout to anyone who didn’t make it through this year – for them, we owe it to ourselves to push through, even in the darkest of times.
I can conclude 2024 is not going to be my year. After all 23 is my lucky number, and 24 is my bad-luck number – and see how much 2023 pushed and pulled me. Even with 2024 not being my year, I will still do my best, push through any challenges it has up ahead for me, and come out victorious. After all, that is the only thing anyone of us can do.
May your holiday season be blessed with joy and love, and may we win over any peril in upcoming times. Stay courageous!
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