We talk about travel
as if the world is waiting for us,
patiently expecting our arrival.
Nothing but destinations on a map,
ready to be crossed, consumed,
collected like passport stamps. [1]
But in reality,
we can only borrow places.
We do not own.
do not conquer.
do not merely pass through.
We borrow.
Like a well-loved library book,
its pages softened by countless fingers,
its stories absorbed by each subsequent reader.
For a borrowed thing asks but one thing of us:
return me gently.
Leave no page torn.
No corner folded beyond repair.
Let the next dreamer find me whole.
So when I step onto unfamiliar streets,
I will walk before I ride, [2]
letting pavements tell their stories
one footprint at a time.
And when I thirst,
I will reach for my water bottle,
not because steel is extraordinary, [3]
but because ordinary habits,
repeated often enough,
become extraordinary change.
A reusable bag folded in my pocket.
A cup filled again and again with hot coffee. [4]
These are not inconveniences,
but invitations
to move with a city
rather than through it.
There are seventeen promises
which the world has written to itself. [5]
I cannot carry all seventeen alone.
But maybe,
One train instead of a plane. [6]
One meal from a local market. [7]
One flower admired, but not disturbed. [8]
Perhaps one by one,
seventeen impossible promises can become possible
one borrower at a time.
One day,
I too will have to return the book.
My suitcase will be heavier
with pencils, photographs,
perhaps a forgotten train ticket
pressed between notebook pages.
Yet I hope what truly returns home
cannot be packed.
A slower pace.
A lighter footprint.
A deeper gratitude.
The certainty that the smallest decisions can echo farther than the grandest intentions.
For the greatest souvenir is not anything I carry with me,
but what I choose not to leave behind.
Because this world was never mine to keep.
It was only ever
borrowed.
Its mountains,
its beaches,
its cities,
its people,
its hectic mornings and crowded stations,
its skies stretching beyond every border.
And when my journey is finished,
I hope I return every borrowed piece
with nothing missing
except the stranger who arrived,
replaced instead
by a grateful guest.
References:
[1] SDG 12
Responsible travel can only happen if we recognise that a place is something to experience, rather than to consume.
[2] SDG 11
Walking rather than taking the train is more carbon-friendly.
[3] SDG 13
More sustainable to use reusable bottles than plastic.
[4] SDG 12
Sustainable consumption is an everyday choice. Each choice helps to offset my carbon footprint.
[5] https://sdgs.un.org/goals
[6] SDG 13
For long distance travel, I aim to take a train where possible, allowing me to reduce my carbon emissions.
[7] SDG 11 + 12
By shopping locally, I hope to support the local economy during my study abroad.
[8] SDG 15
Enjoying nature without harming it helps to conserve biodiversity.
