In January 2006, I woke up with a resolve to stop talking about traveling and actually travel. I have just turned 25 a little over a month before, and I was feeling the onset of a quarter life crisis. While my classmates focused on building their careers and settling with their families, I decided to pursue what I have always dreamed of: to travel.

I’ve traveled before — to some parts of North Luzon, to some of the islands, to Sorsogon where my parents are from, to Indonesia and Singapore, where my siblings are — but never on a trip that I planned and funded by myself. The grand plan was to backpack in Thailand on my own. I had five months to prepare. Apart from researching extensively, I also invested on a trial run: a solo trip for the weekend in Cebu.

If I seem to sound like I am completely comfortable traveling by myself now, that’s because I’ve had plenty of trips under my belt already. When I first started, I was uncomfortable being on my own. Gradually it became better; I’ve learned to love being by myself.

It has been said that when you set your mind to something, the universe will throw plenty of opportunities your way. Since 2006, I’ve traveled around the Philippines, Southeast Asia and even Australia. I’ve visited placed that I thought would always remain in my list of dream destinations like Batanes, El Nido, Cambodia and Laos.

Just Wandering played a big part in my travels. What started out as a travel blog aimed to be monetized to help me earn money to travel, became a place for me to share my stories, provide travel information and inspire those who also wish to travel on their own. In 2010, I believe I’ve already fulfilled my goal: I have traveled a lot more than I thought I would and my travel blog has helped fund my travels. It seems that this is the end of my travel and blogging stint, it just gave way to a new goal. Everything is under wraps at the moment, but as soon as something concrete’s up, you’ll be the first to read my new blog.