Always Be True To Yourself

“Allow yourself to feel everything, not just the good. Many times we deprive ourselves of feeling, and that is exactly what makes us human.”

For Context

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot. No AI allowed.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, Laos, and the UK have written in it. 9 different languages. Ages ranging from 19 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

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Marianne | 24 | Chile

I met Marianne on the Ha Giang Loop in northern Vietnam.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the Ha Giang Loop is a motorbike route through some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in Southeast Asia. You’re packed onto a tour with strangers for a few days and by the end of it they don’t feel like strangers anymore.

Marianne was on the tour with her brother. The two of them had been traveling in Southeast Asia together, and I kept thinking about how rare that is. Siblings who actually choose to spend extended time together on the road, building memories in places most people never get to. Something genuinely cool about that.

They both added to the Journal, but this is what she wrote.

"Always be true to yourself, no matter how many times you fall. You learn from your mistakes, and sometimes from the worst ones, haha.

I am a witness that after the worst storm of all, the sun comes out and it is the best of all.

Allow yourself to feel everything, not just the good. Many times we deprive ourselves of feeling, and that is exactly what makes us human.

Enjoy your long journey."

— Marianne, 24, Chile

After Thoughts

After Marianne wrote in the journal, she said something that has stuck with me. She said that reflecting and sharing life advice isn’t just for the reader. It’s for the writer too. That putting thoughts on paper forces you to connect with yourself and expand your own understanding of what you’ve lived. Writing it down makes it real in a different way.

After the loop ended, I went to Sapa, but then we ended up back in Hanoi at the same time and all hung out again. Great people, and maybe we’ll all cross paths again.

I strongly believe we’re here to connect with others and the world around us, and this book has allowed me to do so on a deeper level. Thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

I’ll continue to share one post a week, so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next heartfelt entry.