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Wooow what an absolutely amazing year 2025 has been! I started the year fresh seeking God and ending still seeking him, leaning into one of the things I love most: travel. Travel has taught me about myself. From moving again, living in 3 continents, and this year reaching 60+ countries. I gained a deeper understanding of what travel has taught me about myself. And after years (and I really mean years) of procrastination, I finally launched my very own travel company, Ayoviama.
I also showed up consistently with my content and my blog (my baby, for real). For that alone, travel-wise and creatively, I am incredibly proud of myself. I made a conscious decision to let MBV show up properly this year, and that’s not stopping in 2026.
Despite all the movement and stamps in my passport, as 2025 comes to an end I’ve found myself reflecting less on where I’ve been and more on who I’ve become along the way. This was the year I truly came out of my shell after years of shrinking myself to make other people feel comfortable. I wasn’t doing that anymore this year. It was tiring, and to be honest those people know that they where below me and where lucky to even have access. This was the year I decided: if I am too much for you, then you have to go. And they did. I didn’t waste time explaining myself to anyone. Just removed access. Quickly. And with haste.
This was the year I decided: if I am too much for you, then you have to go.
Travel is a huge part of who I am, and my final country of the year was Kosovo. Standing there, at the top of the Prizren fortress (which was a very steep walk up to) a deep sense of awe filled me. I did this by myself. I worked hard for the life I am currently living and I love that for me. How did someone like me a country pumpkin who once struggled to get her British passport and nervously took her first solo trip to Berlin end up visiting over 60 countries? Honestly… how?
For me, travel has never really been about ticking places off a list. I know it sounds cliché especially since I do count countries, but if you understood the struggle of obtaining my British passport, you’d know that travel for me has always been more than numbers. It’s about keeping a promise to myself: that I would see the world. And I am doing exactly that.
Travel has shown me the world. Given me an international community. It has made me appreciate life. My life. It has helped me understand the impact of history. And most importantly, it has become a mirror. It’s shown me myself. And I’m only just getting started. Between me and you I’m going to places we can only imagine. I’m going to see the world because I deserve to.
Here is what travel has taught me about myself. A few travel lessons to take with you in the New Year. If you have ever asked yourself what travel teaches you this is a post you need to read.
Related post: How I Travelled to 60 Countries Without a Single Brand Deal
I’m more adaptable than I ever gave myself credit for
When I first started travelling I relied heavily on people, friends and family to travel. Now I don’t need anyone to go anywhere I want to go to in the world and for that I have everything. The confidence to travel didn’t arrive overnight. It was built quietly and it’s one thing I love about myself.
Travel teaches you to be flexible and boy don’t I know it. It has a way of throwing you into situations you didn’t plan for. It can be the missed buses, which I had when I was in Serbia, cancelled flights in Peru, the language barriers while living in Morocco, the unfamiliar customs, not to mention the sudden changes of plans (which happens literally all the time). Over time, I’ve learned that I can figure things out. Think quickly on my feet. I can stay calm when things don’t go to plan, can trust myself to navigate new places, new cultures, and new versions of myself.
Read: Why You Should Stop Waiting for Friends to Travel
Food is how I remember places
I LOVE travelling for food. As soon as I have booked a flight I have already searched up the country to find out what are their key local dishes and have jotted a few down to make sure I try them. I love locating countries that embrace their local foods. I love doing cooking classes, food tours. Travel has taught me that I will always travel for food because I can never forget a place I tasted.
Food has become the way my travel memories anchor themselves. It has allow me to connect so deeply with the community, share meals and sometimes understand the real meaning of some foods.
So many of my strongest travel memories are tied to a table, a kitchen, or a conversation over food. It’s why cooking and travel have become so closely linked for me. Food carries culture, history, and emotion in a way nothing else quite does.
Read: Cooking Travel Talks: What I Cooked & Learnt Around the World
I value depth over speed
Earlier on, I wanted to see everything. I still do lol, but going into 2026 I am learning that I’m more interested in feeling a place. Travel has taught me that slowing down allows me to notice more, feel more, the rhythms of daily life, the quiet moments, the spaces in between.
This shift in how I travel mirrors a wider shift in my life. I’m less interested in rushing and more interested in meaning. Fewer places, deeper experiences around the world.
The world is more kinder than you know you just have to go and see it
The way the world seems so scary is an illusion, travel teaches you to see and feel that the way the world is portrayed is not always necessarily true. Travel has taught me that the world holds so much beauty. It’s the beautiful sites, the deep real connections you have when you meet people along the way the conversations with strangers, the shared moments with friends, even the moments of solitude have taught me that the world is much more kinder than we give credit for.
Even after my ordeal in Greece I realised that I was travelling with bad energy, because me hasn’t had any issues in any other country I have moved or travelled to. Remember, people are not always bad sometimes who you travel with might be the problem.
Read: Arrested At The Acropolis: What Really Happened
Travel sharpened my sense of self
Oh knowing who I am has been the most important thing for me. Travel has taught me that that moving through different countries as a Black woman has deepened my awareness of identity, safety, visibility, and belonging. Travel has taught me when to observe, when to ask questions, and when to protect my energy.
It’s made me more confident in who I am and more comfortable taking up space. Showing up as myself and if it’s to much quietly leaving, intentionally and on my own terms.
I don’t travel to escape I travel to understand to learn
I know many people that don’t travel think it’s about escaping. At one point in my life I think I would have agreed with this. I was at a time running away from expectations, but over time, I realised that I’m not travelling to run away from life at home. My home is not even where many think it is. Travel has taught me that I’m travelling because I’m deeply curious. Curious about people, systems, histories, and the way places shape the lives lived within them.
Some destinations have challenged me, others have softened me, but all of them have expanded how I see the world and my place within it.
Looking Ahead to 2026
And there you have it six reasons on what travel has taught me about myself. As I move into 2026, I’m less focused on the number of countries. I will still be counting because it’s an achievement every country I have travelled or moved to is a testament to myself that God is truly allowing me to live the life I have always wanted.
Someone always told me that I should do what makes me happy. And today on the last day of 2025 I can honestly say I am truly living and breathing the life that makes me happy.
The new year of 2026 is going to be a fantastic year for me with new opportunities, where I am flooded with request that I can say yes too. And I pray for the same for you may 2026 be filled with only good things wether that is travels or not I hope you do what makes you happy in the New Year.
For me I will still be travelling. Cheers to a great year head filled with so many opportunities.
A question for you. What has travel taught you about yourself?
See you in the New Year,
MBV X
