Life and all its struggles

Life is not easy. That's something I found out quite some time ago already. Life is throwing things at you and you just have to make sure you catch the rights and duck from the wrongs. You learn by making mistakes and you grow from experiences. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I travelled to Asia on my own last year. The first picture below is that very first picture that was taken of me when I started my journey. The second picture is the last picture that was taken of me at the end of my journey. There are exactly 111 days in between, and I still can't really believe how much I have changed. On the first picture we had just landed in BKK and I was so happy I survived that long flight on my own. I was so tired of all the impressions and I guess I didn't really realize yet that I would be on my own for about four months. I didn't have a clue of what was coming for me at that time. 

The second picture was taken by Matteo when Arjen and me were at Koh Samui Airport to go home. By that time I had seen 5 Asian countries, gained a pretty sweet tan, improved my muay thai skills, spoke some Thai, learned to eat rice for breakfast, decided not to go to University after summer and most importantly I got so much more independent and confident. I was still alive! I found out being on your own isn't as hard as it sounds. Yeah of course, I struggled at times, but looking back now, this was probably one of the best decisions of my life. I gained so much of this trip. I met so many new people. It really makes you think about how big this world is and how many people are living on this planet. I feel like I met the whole world while really I haven't even met 1/100 of it. I met some nice people and I met some not so nice people. I met some people I'd rather not have met and I met people that will stay with me forever. I quickly found out not to trust everyone but also figured out that most people are willing to help you if you are in need. Everyone is human. That's for sure. I guess Asia made me grow up. And made me a little more the person that I am right now. 

Like I said, life's not easy. I'm still young, I'm still learning every single day and for now I'm just catching the things life throws at me and I'm trying to make the best of it. I read this quote one day and every time something isn't going as planned or when things turn for the worse I think of this quote.

'Even if you fall flat on your face, you're still moving forward'

Life wasn't made to be easy. Life was made to be worth it. I decided not to go to college yet. To travel some more before starting another chapter of my life. I thought I'd only be going to Asia again. Those plans changed already. I'm going to Rio as well now. Things change. Change isn't always a bad thing. I can say I'm not really good with changes. But sometimes change is what a person needs. So Rio in January, Thailand in March, University in September and after that, the rest of my life. 

People, we can conquer the world. Don't ever let someone tell you you can't do something. Prove them wrong. And remember, Karma's a bitch. Do good, get good. What goes around comes, around and when life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life you've got a thousand reasons to smile. I could go on in quotes for about on hour more but I'll leave it here. I just needed to get this of my chest. Had my mind going for a while. Okay, now go and enjoy the rest of your day. Carpe Diem.