Why I interviewed myself / A post different from the usual

Dear readersSo a while a go I was writing back and forth with folkmagazine and it looked liked they might publish some of my work respectively a short story about me. They asked me to answer a series of questions and I invested quite some time in answering them all as exstensively and accurate as possible. To my disappointment, after handing in the photos and attending to my "duties" by answering the questions they sent me, they never got back to me. I'm not mad or anything because maybe it was just me getting my expectations up to high or they didn't find me to be a good fit after all. Nevertheless, I was writing back and forth with one of my Instagram friends (Zach Carrier) and amongst other things expressed to him my disappointment about the potential collab that didn't work out at the end. Then he came up with the great idea that I should turn my answers into a blog post, so that after all the time invested wouldn't be time wasted. I thought it to be a brilliant idea and so here I am, turning the question answer game into a blogpost and in a way "interviewing" myself. I don't know what I'm expecting from this but maybe I just have to urge to share my answers and who knows maybe it will inspire some dreams and thoughts in some of you too. Also, I see it as a way of opening myself up to any potential reader out there and as a way to reflect on myself. This is also to show you that when things don't work out how you want them to you can take matters into your own hand and create something new from it that is your own. I'm sure that the invested time and invested work in whatever you're doing will pay off eventually as long as you keep believing! (And to be honest, yes I struggle sticking to that mantra too, but let's make an effort together and keep it on the top of our minds, will we?). I hope you enjoy the read!

• Why do you adventure?

Adventure for me is a way of challenging myself and breaking through the grid. I'm not a fan of routine and seek to gather as many experiences as I can to live life to the fullest.

• Why do you explore?

Exploring for me is a way of getting to know not only your surroundings better but also a way of finding to your inner self. Similar to adventure, its a great way to keep me motivated, challenged but also inspired. 

• Why take risks in life?

Simple-because you mostly won't regret the things you did but more so the things you didn't do. Risks exist, if you explore or if you don't, so better break out of your shell and have no regrets later of missing out on things.

• Where are you from?

I'm originally from Switzerland but consider myself a world citizen. Traveling always has been and will be my greatest passion in life and I've made it my mission to explore and breath as many different places and cultures as I can.

• What is your 9-5?

I will follow my heart and switch to a new study this coming September and will be a Design management student which gives me the possibility to combine business and art. Even though I would love to set off to explore the world full time, I don't have the means yet to do that, so until then I will educate myself in a study which I'm passionate about and meanwhile use every free second to travel and work on my blog.

• When you were growing up what or who did you want to be?

I had many different professions in mind but the one I was most fixated about was that I wanted to become either an archaeologist or an astro physicist as I was always amazed by the profoundness of our universe and was keen on exploring.

• Favorite place you've visited?

I think Iceland is one of the places which impressed me the most so far. Iceland has places to offer that look like no human being ever set foot on it, no wonder that Iceland is frequently being used as a setting for extraterrestrial movies. The landscapes are just unreal and mysterious that makes you want to pinch yourself in order to make sure that you're not dreaming.

• Place you most desperately want to visit?

This is a tough one as there are incredibly many places that I want to visit and that are on my list. But which I definitely want to do in the near future is going to Kyrgyzstan for an outdoor/trekking holiday or to go there volunteering with local children. I would love to see the wide landscapes that are bordered by an impressive mountain rage and I'm grateful for the fact that it has been spared from mass tourism so far.

• What is the single greatest moment of human humanity you've experienced while traveling?

What always impresses me is the fact that people that have so little themselves are often way more generous and hospitable than any other people. This for example when I saw people sharing the little food they had with their dogs or offering hospitality to people they hardly knew. What is so impressive about these people is that they still care about others-doesn't matter how good they know them-even when they're bad off themselves. For them sharing is caring and I would love to see some of this kindness and selflessness reflecting back in our rather individualistic and egocentric western mentality. 

• What has changed about you because of your travels?

As corny as it may sound but I think traveling has made me a better version of myself. I have gained a very open attitude and most importantly have been exposed to different people with different viewpoints and stories to tell, which have enriched my horizons far more than any classroom could have. 

• Who is the most dynamic and thought provoking person you've ever met?

During my exchange year in the US I’ve met a woman who was around 90 years old who started studying when she was 80 years old. She always wanted to go to university but couldn’t afford it back in the days, so from 80 years onward, university is free of charge. I was inspired by her determination and this truly showed me that it’s never too late to chase your dream and follow your passions!

• If you could travel with one person in history or in present who would it be and why?

I know this doesn’t count as “one person” but I would take my parents and that for the simple reason that they didn’t have the possibilities and means to travel and explore to the extent that I do as they were always working hard to make a living. I would love to reciprocate all the things they have done and still do for me one day and take them around the world to show them the beauties our planet has to offer in order to thank them.

• Must haves for travel?

Definitely a camera. This allows you not only to capture beautiful or inspiring moments but also allows you to enjoy it for as long as you want when looking back at the pictures. Also, as I’m swiss I kind of have to say this, a swiss-army knife always comes in useful and you never one when you going to need it. Last but not least, you should always bring a basic medical kit with you, as you never know whats gonna happen and if there is access to medication. Everything else, except a passport and money of course, is replaceable in my eyes.  

• Give us a travel tip

Always take off with a CAN-DO attitude and don’t let yourself be set back when things don’t work the way you want them too. At the end it will always work out, so stay calm, breathe and smile ;) 

• Give us a story any kind of story from one of your trips that will be impactful to the reader

Sometimes I feel ashamed and spoiled when I see how lucky I am compared to people in other parts of the world. One example that stuck with me when I was visiting mount Iljen in Indonesia, which is a famous resource for sulfur, was when I saw the sulfur workers carrying out their vigorous work. Not only did I feel ashamed seeing the hard work the sulfur workers had to perform day in day out all whilst being defenselessly exposed to the toxic fumes of the volcano, but it made me deeply sad. At the same time, it often makes me question things, as these people sometimes still seem to be more appreciative of the things they have and be generally more happy than a person from the first world seeming to have a “complete life”. Also, it made me question humanity, when I saw a worker carrying up a lazy tourist in a little wagon up the mountain and saw with how much effort this was involved. This made me feel an instant distaste for the western abundance and satiety. I know that this is how some workers make a living, so they’re basically surviving by carrying fat and lazy people up the mountain. Nevertheless, it still seemed absurd to me as he appeared like a carriage animal in that moment and that picture looked just so wrong to my eyes as it should to anyone else’s. Also, this made me rethink my working morals. I always considered myself ambitious and hard-working but after seeing this I told myself that if I ever was going to complain about “working hard” again I should remind myself of the workers there (or anyone in similar conditions) and be appreciative of all the possibilities that are open to me instead. 

• Based on your travels what is the single most needed improvement for humanity to be stronger?

Three words: Respect, openness and understanding. People need to have more respect from one another and need to be able to see things from another person’s perspective. They need to step out of their predetermined thoughts and stereotypes and make themselves available for different viewpoints and be open for change. We are all in this together, so instead of fighting against each other and drifting further apart we need to figure out a way how to make this work together.

• What would you say to someone who has never travelled before?

People might have different motives for not travelling-be it money or no interest. While it’s everyone’s own decision whether to travel or not I would at least want to give them the experience of travelling at least once in order to show them what it does to you and how it changes you. Travelling, even when way more common than back in the days still is a luxury, despite of everyone saying “anyone can travel” as I know from experience that that’s not always the case. The majority of people in fact can’t afford it and struggle to make ends meet. But I would love to give them the possibility and show them how it changes the view of yourself and the world and you see how material things become far less important and you start living for experiences and memories instead.   

• What is the single greatest lesson you've learned from someone that is different than you and what did you learn from that lesson?

I would consider myself a rather realistic person so the first time I’ve heard the sentence “you only have to believe in it in order to make it work” I couldn’t do much with it. Over the years I’ve gotten wiser and what used to sound like superstition to me actually started to make sense. Self-fulfilling prophecy is closely attached to this and I now know more than ever if you don’t believe in yourself, in your ambitions and goals, no one else will. Determination and believing in yourself are therefore important in order not to be an obstacle to yourself and always keep in mind where you want to go. It will give you strength along the way to achieve things that you never thought were possible.

• When did you feel you were most out of your comfort zone?

I don’t have any particular moment in mind rather would like to speak generally. Even though I have developed into a more open-minded and talkative person I still find myself rather shy when finding myself in a new hostel environment. Even while people know me as being very outgoing most people might not realize that deep down there will always be a part of myself that makes it a returning challenge to talk to new people at the hostel. Normally I don’t have a problem to talk to strangers at all but encountering people that have seen so many places sometimes makes me feel a little inferior for some strange reason even if I know it’s a ridiculous thing to think as we’re all “sitting in the same boat” and equal.

• What would you say to your former self?

Stop doubting and thinking that you’re not good enough. You can achieve whatever you’ve set your mind too and especially don’t be afraid to take on new tasks because you think others will be better than you in it. You won’t find out unless you try! Plus being passionate about something is way more important than convulsively trying to be perfect at something, it will only make you grim/dogged and takes all the fun out of it.   

• What gives you hope?

Within all the mess that constitutes our planet and the continuous downward spiral that were currently on, it gives me hope that some people still have the courage and the heart not only to speak up but also people that are selfless and help each other on an altruistic base. Unfortunately these people are rare nowadays but they still exist.

• Where to next?

At the moment of writing this I'm still in Costa Rica where I'm exploring while also improving my Spanish. Two weeks time from now I’ll go the one of Costa Rica’s most impressive national parks, called Manuel Antonio, in order to experience the richness of its flora and fauna there. Also, apart from a handful of European city escapes I’m planning until summer, I’m currently on the verge of planning a trip to South America starting off in Colombia from where my aunt in-law originates from.

So this was it...I wanted to leave the answers raw and how I originally wrote them and maybe I could have transformed them into a continuous text but I thought that might be cheating and too far away from the original intent.So now tell me, what inspires you to travel and explore the world? And what have you learned on your journeys so far?Let me know in the comment section below! I would love to get to know you better too!Kind regardsthe_escapedstudent