December 9, 2015, by Danny Bav

✈️ ‘Embrace uncertainty – it keeps life interesting’ ✈️

We exist as creatures of habit; we adopt routines in everyday life to help us create structure and to keep us sane when life gets chaotic. However, routines can make us miss the small opportunities that surround us. Let’s take university for example – we spend countless hours commuting back and forth, perhaps taking the same bus or walking the same route to university.

During this time, many of us may adopt a state of autopilot and often have other things on our mind. This causes us to often overlook the small details; for example, when was the last time you noticed that the same strangers walk past you every day? Or perhaps the gradual change of seasons around you? Although routines are beneficial, they can take us away from the moment and make life rather monotonic.

There are many ways to break the monotonicity of life, but one of my favourite ways is to take time out to travel. Exploring a new culture is something deeply inspiring, you get taken out of your comfort zone and adopt the perspective of other people around the world. For me, the most serendipitous moments of my life have occurred while travelling – it gave me the opportunity to open my mind, embrace spontaneity and to create ever-lasting memories with friends that I will cherish for future years to come.

Recently, my friends and I gathered in Hallward with our laptops in hand to book tickets to spend Chinese New Year in Hong Kong before our semester abroad. I like to keep things quite spontaneous, so I have no idea what our trip to HK will bring. What I do know though is that embracing the uncertainty that comes with being immersed in a totally different culture will be surprising yet satisfying at the same time. Travelling allows you to learn about yourself as well as to appreciate home and family more, especially after being away for a long period of time. It can also act as a social media detox – many of us get carried away with social media and technology these days that we do not truly live in the moment.

However, you don’t have to travel far – even spending an afternoon walking through Wollaton park and being completely immersed in your surroundings can provide a very warm feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction. Unexpected things can happen when you break routines, so next time a friend asks you to spontaneously go somewhere, or do something takes you out of your natural routine, embrace it and enjoy the ride, because remember – it keeps life interesting.

*Title quote from a book I’m reading called – 52 Cups Of Coffee by Megan Gebhart, I recommend you guys check it out! 🙂

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