I never thought a plane ticket could carry so much weight-not just in luggage, but in responsibility.
when I was offered the chance to do my international placement in the United Kingdom through UEL,my first feeling was pure excitement. My second feeling? A quiet but firm voice asking:”How are you going to do this right?”
Because here’s the truth nobody talks about enough -travel has a cost beyond money. It has a carbon cost. A waste cost.An environmental cost. And as a student who genuinely believes in the UN Sustainable Development Goals,I refused to let my excitement silence my conscience.
So I made a plan. Not a perfect plan, but a purposeful one.
First,I tackled transport.Instead of automatically booking the cheapest flight, I researched lower emission options, chose direct routes to reduce fuel burn, and once in the Uk, committed fully to trains, buses and walking.Every train journey felt like a small act of resistance against a world that defaults to convenience over conscience.
Then came the daily habits. I carried a reusable water bottle everywhere, something so simple ,yet so powerful when you realise how many plastic bottles a single person discards in a week aboard. I shopped at local markets instead of supermarket chains wrapped in packaging. I chose accomadation that had visible sustainability practices. Small choices, repeated daily, that quietly added up.
But what surprised me most was the conversations. Travelling sustainably made me interesting to talk to. Fellow students, locals, even strangers on the Tube asked why I was carrying a tote bag full of vegetables from Borough Market instead of a plastic wrapped meal deal. Those conversations became moments of geniune connection and quiet advocacy.
That is where I found the real power of sustainable travel. Not just in carbon numbers or recycling bins, but in the ripple effect of one person making visible, thoughtful choices in front of others.
The UN’s SDG 13- Climate Action- is not just goal for government and corporations. It lives in the daily decision of young people like me, choosing a train over a taxi , a reusable cup over a disposable one, a local business over a global chain.
My placement in the UK gave me knowledge, perspective, and skills I could never have gained in a classroom. But my commitment to sustainability gave that journey a deeper meaning, proof that we can move through the world with curiosity and care.
The BUTEX sustainability Scholarship would not just support my education. It would validate something I deeply believe : that the most powerful journeys are the ones that leave the world a little better than they found it.
I am ready to keep travelling -The right way.
