One day I decided to travel and I never came back

One day I decided to travel and I never came back.

Not due to defiance or wanting to stay; but simply because I changed.

I crossed borders that I never thought I would. Neither on the map, nor in life. I went so far that looking back wasn’t even comforting anymore, it was motivating.

I met people that I can call teachers and gained knowledge that no book could ever teach me. Not because it was a secret but because it was never written.

In my life’s dictionary, I added new meanings to education, fear and respect.

I relearned the value of a few gestures. Like when you’re a kid, the spontaneity of smiles and expressions enforces the most universal form of communication there is – the language of the soul.

I was sheltered by different people, families, strangers, benches and parks. Between floors and humans, both capable of being just as cold or uplifing.

I’ve been through streets, stations, airports and I’m proud to say that I find difficult remebering all their names. My memory shares my desire to freshen up with new and old adventures.

I made real friends. The friendships you make on the road do not fade in space or time. Friends that confront the vast distances and challenge the long years. These are friendships that endure through summers and winters due to the certanity of new encounters.

I lived beyond my own imagination. I shattered expectations and accumulated intangible wealth. I allowed my body and soul to try other states of living and consciousness.

I rediscovered what really fascinates me. I felt intense goose bumps and gave space for my heart to beat faster than my regular daily routine would ever allow.

And you know what?

I began to understand a different meaning of what it is to miss something. Just like we are sometimes, it can be harsh. But I promise you that I can be more than that. Actually, it can be something beautiful.

Knowing that, I reevaluated some of my hugs, gave more respect to some of the words I’ve spoken and I fell in love even more with my friends and family.

Yet, I still have a lot to learn.

If anything, all these experiences drive the certainty of only one thing – I still have a lot of places to see, people to cross paths with and knowledge to discover.

One day I decided to travel…

and it was from that moment on that I realized that any trip is one-way only.

(Marcelo Penteado)