Author: Millie Britt

From Crying In An Airport To Crying On A Mountain. These Are the 5 Trips That Changed Me.

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People always say travel changes you.

And it does, but not in the “spiritual awakening” kind of way that Instagram captions make it seem. It changes you in quieter, messier ways. It forces you to face yourself when things don’t go as planned. It makes you deal with fear, loneliness, and discomfort, and it slowly teaches you that you can handle more than you think.

These are the five experiences that changed me. Not the “best photo” moments, but the ones that actually made me see life differently.

5. Losing my Luggage in Barcelona

I’ll never forget standing at baggage claim in the Barcelona airport, watching every other suitcase appear except mine.

At first, I tried to stay calm. Told myself it was fine…maybe it would come on the next flight. But as the crowd cleared out and the belt stopped moving, that calm cracked. The weight of being completely alone in a country where I barely spoke the language hit me all at once.

And I just started crying. Right there, in the middle of the airport. A kind Italian man in the lost luggage line tried to help me fill out the form and calm me down lol. He was speaking in broken English, and I was trying to answer between sobs. I remember thinking, What am I doing here? Why did I think I could do this alone?

I went to my meeting point at the airport that day feeling stupid and small, again with no luggage. Everyone around me seemed effortlessly cool and confident. Solo travelers swapping stories, planning their next stops and I couldn’t stop thinking that I’d made a mistake.

But , something shifted.

That’s when I met Chris, Brett, and Natalie. Three people who didn’t know me but treated me like I belonged. They lent me clothes, helped me laugh about it, and reminded me how good people can be. For the next two days, I walked around Barcelona in borrowed outfits, a bought Zara outfit for nightclubbing, and I felt freer than I ever had. Quite literally. I partied that first night til 9am with no care in the world. 

It’s crazy how quickly life can flip. One moment, I’m crying in an airport convinced I wasn’t cut out for solo travel, and two days later, I was laughing with new friends over cheap wine, realizing that losing everything I thought I needed gave me something more important: confidence.

That trip started with me wanting to go home. It ended with me knowing I could handle anything.

4. The British Man in Prague

I was coming off one of the worst heartbreaks of my life. The kind that leaves you questioning everything; your worth, your intuition, your ability to ever trust again (big man hater here). I told myself I was done. That men were the problem. That I’d rather be alone forever than risk being hurt again.

And then I met him.

He was British. Charming, good looking, beautiful eyes and extremely funny. We met in a small, crowded bar for a drinking crawl in Prague where the music was too loud and the floor was sticky and the bar was in a cave. During the night, we spent endless hours dancing, drinking cheap beer and wine and even shared a moment in a shared poncho while it was pouring rain down on us.

We danced until the lights came on. Talked for hours about nothing and everything. It wasn’t love, and it was never meant to be. But that night reminded me of something I didn’t realize I’d lost, the ability to let my guard down.

He didn’t try to impress me. He didn’t make promises. He just listened. I can still remember how light I felt walking home that night, lighter than I had in months.

We still follow each other. We still like each other’s posts every once in a while. And it makes me smile; not because of what it was, but because of what it represented. He reminded me that not everyone will hurt me. That not every story ends in heartbreak.

Sometimes people come into your life for one night, and that’s all it takes to shift something in you.

3. London and Ireland with Andi

This trip was a whirlwind. A perfect mix of chaos and laughter and exhaustion.

Ceilings literally caving in at our hostel, staying out until 5 a.m., sprinting through airports, barely making flights, it was ridiculous. But it was also one of the most fun and freeing trips I’ve ever had.

Andi and I have been best friends for years, but this trip showed me just how deep our friendship runs. Traveling together isn’t always easy. You see every side of someone. The tired, cranky, hungover, lost, anxious sides and it either breaks you or bonds you. For us, it bonded us.

We laughed our way through every disaster. We figured things out as we went. There was something grounding about knowing that even when everything went wrong, we had each other’s backs.

People always assume we’re together (we’re not lol), but that trip made me realize something I didn’t know I needed; that soulmates can come in different forms.

Not every “great love story” is romantic. Sometimes it’s two people who just get it. Who match your energy, your chaos, and your humor. Who see you for who you are and still sign up for the next adventure with you anyway.

That’s what this trip was for me, a reminder that the people meant for you don’t always show up the way you expect them to.

2. Japan – Learning to Stay Open

Japan was one of those trips that changed how I see everything.

From the second we landed, I felt it. The calm, the kindness, the way the world feels slower there. The people were so generous it almost didn’t make sense. Strangers stopped to help us when we were lost, walked us to train stations, smiled just to be kind.

We spent the trip bouncing between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka; trying on kimonos, visiting shrines, eating everything in sight, getting lost, and laughing about it. There was one night where a group of macho men literally carried us down to our seats at a bar (don’t ask), and another where we saw Mt. Fuji peek through the clouds for two minutes and just stood there speechless.

It was one of the first times I felt completely present.

Japan taught me that confidence isn’t about having it all together. It’s about showing up with curiosity. It’s about being kind even when you have no idea what’s going on. It’s about slowing down enough to notice how beautiful life can be when you stop trying to control it.

That trip made me want to live with more intention. To be more observant. To treat people better. To be okay with not knowing what comes next. It helped soften my heart. 

1. Machu Picchu – Realizing I Could Start Over

I don’t think I’ve ever been more physically or emotionally drained than I was climbing Montana MachuPicchu.

Three hours of uphill hiking at high altitude; I couldn’t breathe, my legs burned, and I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it. Every few steps I had to stop. I was battling my body and my brain, both telling me to quit.

Halfway up, I started tearing up. Not because of the pain, but because of what it represented.

I was still teaching at the time. I loved my students, but the job was breaking me. I was constantly sick, constantly tired, constantly pretending I was fine. I’d smile for photos, post about classroom life, act like everything was okay, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t.

That hike became a mirror. Every step felt like climbing out of the life I’d been stuck in. The altitude made me dizzy, but the realization hit harder. I didn’t have to stay somewhere that made me unhappy just because it was safe.

When I finally reached the top, I completely broke down. I was crying and laughing and gasping for air all at once. And for the first time in a long time, I felt free.

That mountain was the moment everything clicked. I realized I could choose my hard; stay where I was and stay stuck, or take a risk on myself.

I chose myself. I left teaching. I started writing. I started a brand new career in travel. I started telling the truth again.

That climb didn’t just change how I saw the world, it changed how I saw me.

What travel really taught me

Travel doesn’t fix you. It reveals you.

It strips away the distractions, the comfort, the control, the routine, and shows you what’s really there.

It’s standing in an airport crying because you lost everything and realizing you’re still okay. It’s dancing with a stranger who reminds you that love isn’t dead. It’s laughing your way through chaos with your best friend. It’s getting lost in Tokyo and realizing how kind people can be. It’s climbing a mountain and realizing you’ve been carrying way too much.

Those are the moments that change you. Not the perfect photos. Not the bucket list checkmarks. The human moments. The honest ones.

Travel didn’t make my life easier — it made it real.

Twenty-Seven, and Still Becoming

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27th

Birthdays feel different in your twenties.

(Pictures above are my 21st birthday (camo queen) and my 27th birthday).

They hold a quiet kind of gravity, the weight of what was, what could have been, and what still might be.

I remember turning 21, student teaching in a first-grade classroom, in love, living off Starbucks sandwiches from my 25-hour work weeks. Back then, life felt certain. I thought I’d be married by 27, have kids by 30, and settle into a calm kind of happiness. That was the dream, the one everyone from my small hometown seemed to hand down. The one that promised comfort, love, and belonging.

And honestly, life felt easier when the world told you who to be.

When dreams came ready-made and you didn’t yet question if they truly belonged to you.

I wished for love. For a family. For a life that felt full because someone else was in it. I didn’t know that happiness could change its shape. That sometimes it wears a ring, and other times it looks like a one-way ticket and a suitcase with room to grow.

Looking back, I almost envy that 21-year-old girl. The one who thought she had it all figured out. The one who believed love was the destination, not something you’d meet, lose, and rebuild along the way.

The years between 21 and 27 carried me through classrooms and airports, heartbreak and healing, friendships that faded and others that bloomed. They carried me to Chicago, a city that somehow feels like both chaos and home.

Twenty-seven doesn’t look the way I imagined it would.
It looks stronger. Softer. More mine.

This year feels like a quiet kind of power. Not the kind that shouts, “I’ve figured it all out,” but the kind that whispers, “I’m still becoming.” I’ve learned it’s okay to change your mind. To walk away from the version of life you once thought was the only one. To start again and again until it feels right.

If my 21-year-old self could see me now, she might think I missed the mark. No husband. No kids. No classroom of my own. She might even think I’m old (LOL). But I think she’d also be proud. Proud that I’ve built something from uncertainty. That I’ve learned to be okay with being alone. That I’ve created a life filled with love through family, friends, coworkers, and the things that light me up; travel, writing, and independence.

Because what I’ve learned is this:

Success doesn’t always look like the life you planned. Sometimes it looks like becoming the kind of person who keeps showing up for herself. Who grows. Who changes. Who finds meaning in the in-between.

And yes, sometimes it’s lonely. There are nights I still crave the love I thought I’d have by now, or wonder why my timing feels off. But I’ve realized timing isn’t a race. It’s a rhythm.

We all move to our own.

Turning 27 has been emotional in the best way. It’s about letting go of old dreams and making peace with that. It’s understanding that it’s not failure when life changes direction. It’s evolution. It’s proof that you’re still growing.

You can still want love and marriage and family. But you can also want yourself. Your peace. Your purpose. Your independence.

So here’s to 27.

To the girl I was and the woman I’m still becoming.
To the dreams I’ve outgrown and the ones still waiting for me.
And to the quiet realization that life doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s to be something beautiful.

What No One Tells You About Traveling in Your 20s

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Traveling in your 20s is something everyone should try at least once. And if you haven’t yet, ask yourself why. What’s holding you back? Not because it’s easy, but because it changes you in ways you cannot predict. To be honest, travel shifted the entire trajectory of my life and what I thought I wanted out of it.

When I was 22, I dreamt of marriage, kids, and a loving husband who would take care of me. And while those things are still on my radar, they are no longer the focus. Not since I learned what’s waiting for you beyond a small hometown in the middle of Illinois.

At 23, I went through a breakup that wrecked me. The kind that stays with you and makes you question everything; love, trust, the life you thought you were building. It shook me so hard that something in me cracked open. And in that chaos, I made a choice: to let go of what I thought I knew and do something completely different. So I dropped over five thousand dollars on a 35-day backpacking trip across Europe.

For context, I had never traveled alone. My experience up until then included a few trips to Mexico, Disney World, and a guided vacation to Greece with my grandma. I had no idea how to be alone in a new country. I wasn’t running toward adventure. I was running from heartbreak. But something in me knew I needed this.

That moment changed everything.

When June finally rolled around, it was time to be the main character in my own story. A role I had not stepped into in a long time. I flew over 24 hours and took three planes to finally land in Barcelona… where I discovered my massive Osprey backpack had been left behind in New York (cue the tears).

I had nothing but a string bikini and flip-flops in my carry-on.

There I was. Alone in a foreign airport. Crying in the corner (no joke). Regretting everything. No clothes. No makeup. No toothbrush. No idea what I was doing. And yet, somehow, I kept going. To this day, I still don’t know how I did it. Pure adrenaline maybe. 

Soon, I was distracted from my inevitable doom that was my poor missing Osprey by other solo travelers who also had booked the same EF trip as me. These strangers became my friends within hours. Slowly, the heartbreak and fear started to fade.

Eventually, my backpack showed up, and the rest of that trip felt unreal.

I danced until sunrise, explored hidden corners of countries I had only seen on Tiktok, and met people I still love to this day. I remember riding a bus through the Swiss countryside, staring out the window with my headphones in, thinking this feels like the beginning of something.

And it was.

Since then, I have traveled to over 25 countries. If I had waited until I felt fully ready or confident, I might still be waiting. All it really took was one step, one moment of saying yes, and everything started from there. I have soaked in new cultures, stumbled into new friendships, gotten incredibly lost, and found pieces of myself I didn’t know were missing.

But here is what no one really tells you about traveling in your 20s. It will challenge every part of you, and that is exactly why it matters. If you’re waiting to feel ready, this is your sign to lean into the discomfort and see where it takes you. It’s hard.

It’s not just cute cafes and aesthetic views. It’s uncomfortable. It forces you to face yourself. It demands decisions you don’t feel ready to make. It asks you to step into the unknown over and over again.

A friend once told me that in life, we all have to choose our hard. Being in a toxic relationship is hard. Leaving it is hard. Staying stuck is hard. Taking a leap is hard. You just have to decide which version of hard is worth it. 

For me, spending money I didn’t really have to take that leap with EF Ultimate Break was hard. But staying home and feeling stuck in my sadness was hard too.

Choosing discomfort changed everything. 

That one trip built a scaffolding effect. It introduced me to people I will never forget and gave me stories I will be telling for the rest of my life. It gave me the confidence to start this blog and finally share my version of travel, the honest one that I see absolutely no where on social media.

Traveling in your 20s is uncomfortable. That’s the truth. It’s unknown. It’s expensive and messy and overwhelming. But discomfort is where change begins. It’s often where the most meaningful growth happens. So what would your life look like if you said yes to just one uncomfortable thing today?

And just so we are clear, I don’t have it all figured out. I’m 26 and still learning, still messing up, still growing. But what if you did say yes to the trip you always dreamed of? What if you left the job that was slowly draining you? What if you finally walked away from that relationship that did nothing but hold you back?

“What if you chose discomfort — not because it’s easy, but because it might be the very thing that sets you free?“

xoxo Millie

Welcome to My Travel Journey: 20 Countries and Counting

Published on by Millie BrittLeave a comment

Hi there!

I’m so excited to welcome you to my little corner of the internet, where I’ll be sharing my travel experiences, tips, and everything I’ve learned along the way. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a love for exploring the world around me. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I truly dove into the world of travel, and wow—what a journey it has been.

So far, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit 20 countries (and counting!). Among them, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Japan have left the biggest marks on my heart. From wandering the cobblestone streets of Prague, marveling at the snow-capped Alps, to losing myself in the vibrant streets of Tokyo, each destination has taught me something new about the world and about myself.

A Little About Me

I’m currently 26 years old, living in Chicago, and by day, I’m a teacher. But if I’m being completely honest, I’m in the midst of a bit of a quarter-life crisis, trying to figure out what’s next for me. (I’m sure some of you can relate!) What I do know is that traveling has been the best thing to ever happen to me. It’s been my escape and my greatest source of joy.

Over the years, I’ve traveled with family, made unforgettable memories with friends, and even packed my bags to explore the world completely on my own. Each experience has been unique and life-changing in its own way.

My Travel Philosophy: Budget-Friendly with a Dash of Splurge

When it comes to travel, I’m all about balance. I love finding ways to explore on a budget—whether that’s snagging cheap flights, staying in unique hostels, or hunting down affordable (but delicious) eats. But I also believe in treating yourself when the moment is right. Sometimes, that splurge on a special dinner, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or a boutique hotel is worth every penny. My goal is to show you that you don’t have to choose between being frugal and enjoying those little luxuries—it’s all about finding what works for you.

Travel Means Everything to Me

Traveling has been so much more than just seeing new places or ticking destinations off a bucket list. iIt has truly transformed my life. It’s helped me grow as a person, taught me to adapt to challenges, and opened my mind to new cultures and ways of living.

When I look back at some of my biggest life moments, many of them were shaped by travel. I’ve learned to embrace the thrill (and occasional chaos) of traveling solo, made lifelong friends in the most unexpected places, and discovered how empowering it feels to navigate the world on my own.

What You’ll Find Here

On this blog, I’ll be sharing:

  • Solo Travel Tips: Everything you need to know to confidently explore the world on your own.
  • Budget-Friendly Itineraries: Practical guides to help you make the most of your money while still having an unforgettable experience.
  • Splurge-Worthy Moments: Recommendations for when (and where) it’s worth spending a little extra.
  • Personal Stories: The good, the bad, and the funny—because travel isn’t always picture-perfect.

Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or someone dreaming about their first trip, I hope this blog inspires you to take that leap and explore the world in your own way.

Thank you for being here! I can’t wait to share this journey with you!

Here’s to many more adventures,

Wander With Millie