I've had the privilege of growing up in very different parts of the world; though born, raised, and currently residing in Canada, I lived in the Philippines for eleven years prior to university. I've also had the privilege of travelling through South East Asia, North America, and Europe. 

I knew that there was more. On the road there is less. Less expectation, less money. Fewer possessions. Less weight on my shoulders. There is more, too.

I travel to both lose myself and find myself. 

In 2009 I began to suffer from anxiety which for too many years prevented me from living my life. It completely robbed me of my identity; I changed from a confident and sociable person to a withdrawn shadow.

I started to travel because I didn’t believe. I didn’t believe the images of the places and the people that I saw on the screen and in the pages of books.

There's a world out there. A phrase we often hear or read. I have a dream of visiting every country in the world for at least a week, the thing is there are so many! 

I travel, quite simply, because I don't know. What is it then that I don't know, you may understandably ask, and to the answer to that is, well, again, I don't quite know.

At age 24 I (over-)packed my suitcase, two best friends and took off on a 10-day escape to tourist mecca, Phuket – my first overseas adventure as an adult.

Why do I travel? The question that strikes me more is why wouldn’t I travel? My parents have always loved a holiday so I guess that my eyes grew wide from a young age, and when I finished school there was going to be no stopping me from making my first long-term solo trip.

Ask anyone with a humanities degree what they would like to do with their lives and the immediate answer will often be, ‘NOT TEACHING!’

There are three main reasons why I love travelling. First off, the people you meet are incredible! 

Whether they are also travellers or the locals of where you're exploring, you'll find people with totally new perspectives on the world to make you think, make you laugh and make you do things you didn't think you could. 

Personally, there are three main reasons as to why I travel. First and foremost, I travel because I can. 

When I was eleven years old, I moved with my family from Leicestershire in England to the Wairarapa in New Zealand. We lived there for three years before returning to the UK; following this I always knew I wanted to travel. 

Whether it’s jumping on a plane, on a train or even in the car for an hour’s drive south, travel has allowed me to see the world and experience the essence of humanity in the most incredibly diverse contexts.

I travel to live! Traveling allows me to experience something different and escape the monotony of everyday life. When you're on the road, everyday is an adventure, and everyday you're experiencing something new.

I’ve always had a massive craving to explore the world. There is a certain luxury in being able to journey wherever you wish and not having to worry about anything.