If my suitcase could speak, it would have stories to tell.
It would talk about a girl who first dragged it throught the buzzing streets of Paris, then taken it to the chalky cliffs of Dorset to the heat-drenched alleys of Casablanca. It would whisper in four languages: French, English, Spanish and even a few words of Arabic, because its owner believes every language is a doorway to empathy. But lately, it would also talk about something elese: a shift. A conscious decision. A promise.
I have always been on the move. Travel is an integral part of my identity, whether it’s studies, internships, childhood summers or even Sunday mornign train rides with a book and a baguette. But it was not until I began studying international management and preparing for my Madrid exhange that I stopped and asked myself : At what cost?
That is when I started traveling differently.
In casablanca, while interning in the finance department of an international hotel, I became aware of tourism’s hidden footprints such as energy, plastic and food waste. I was not a guest, I was behind the scenes. I saw it all. And I could not unsee it. So I started changing small things like refusing plastic bottles, walking instead of driving, using Careem’s eco-friendly ride options, and buying local products instead of imports. I also tracked my own emissions using MyClimate, which helped me visualise just how much a single flight really means in CO2.
These actions are not revolutionary. But they are intentional. They align with SDG 12 and 13 and perhaps more quietly with SDG 11 ( making cities more sustainable). In Casablanca, that meant learning to respect the limits of the city’s fragile infrastructure. In Madrid, it’ll mean embracing BiciMAD, cooking seasonal food, and living in a flat that does not blast air conditioning 24/7 just because it can.
And here is the thing: it’s not always glamorous. It means saying no to convenience, yes to responsibility. It means Googling “eco-hostels in Spain” instead of picking the one with the best rooftop pool. It means using apps like Too Good To Go to rescue food, or HappyCow to eat more sustainably, even if I have to walk a bit further.
What I realised is that sustainibility is not a constraint, it’s creativity. It’s reimagining travel not just as a personal journey, but planetary one. Every time I board on a bus instead of a flight, or support a small business instead of a chain, I’m not just saving money, I’m choosing for a different kind of world.
Now, when I pack my suitcase, I add more than just clothes. I pack values. Curiosity. and above all, responsability, because If I want to keep discovering this beautiful, diverse planet, I have to do my part to protect it.
My suitcase might not speak, but my choices do.
https://www.careem.com/fr/ride/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22497130217&gbraid=0AAAAA-tjdP05qGBunuC-HJ0Hb8P2WcI9G&gclid=CjwKCAjw9uPCBhATEiwABHN9K5FWj_7bSq2TjtlbZ0cLwhaPdlenbvdCuZumFdSTOG3paPOX7RBm3hoCRcoQAvD_BwE
https://www.myclimate.org/en/?etcc_med=SEA&etcc_par=Google&etcc_cmp=%5Bmyclimate%5D+ROW_EN_ohne+CH_4&etcc_grp=59870930760&etcc_bky=myclimate&etcc_mty=e&etcc_plc=&etcc_ctv=363117764536&etcc_bde=c&etcc_var=CjwKCAjw9uPCBhATEiwABHN9KxNLDbFtZ95c0SrSPPHmqz5pVMcLx8LOFRRzemvxIsaL3B2m-FJ_qRoCMmUQAvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1480582024&gbraid=0AAAAADoaPahPq0xo3wCuRbdODbzPA7UGF&gclid=CjwKCAjw9uPCBhATEiwABHN9KxNLDbFtZ95c0SrSPPHmqz5pVMcLx8LOFRRzemvxIsaL3B2m-FJ_qRoCMmUQAvD_BwE
https://sdgs.un.org/fr/goals/goal11
https://sdgs.un.org/fr/goals/goal12
https://sdgs.un.org/fr/goals/goal13
https://www.bicimad.com/
https://www.toogoodtogo.com/es
https://www.happycow.net/
