I realized that I wasn’t going to be in my 20s forever (no shit, I know) but it just suddenly clicked and I saw time differently.

Instead of everything feeling distant or abstract I felt like my brain broke my adulthood down into thirds and I suddenly knew how I needed to prioritize and made me realize I needed to change how I was living and appreciate the moment and the people around me.

Now I’m in my 30s and I’m so glad that trip changed my perception of time. It wasn’t a universal secret unlocked or anything, but it was a deeply personal lesson for me and one that made me able to appreciate time I had with people that I don’t have now and do a lot of things differently. I made some big choices for myself because of that trip and it changed the course of my life.