How One Trip Can Change Your Life: A Personal Journey Through Fear, Growth, and Travel

Can a trip change your life?

If you’ve ever wondered whether a trip can truly change your life, the answer is simple: YES.

Welcome to this space where we explore the kind of things most people overlook – the subtle shifts that can have a huge, sometimes even radical, impact on how we see and live our lives.

Whether you’ve already taken that life-changing trip or you’re feeling the pull to transform your life and are ready to explore what more the world has to offer, know this: you’re in good company here. And you are not alone.

If you’re someone who has already changed course, left the harbor, and set new coordinates, you’ll find this space to be a great travel companion and a place where you belong.

If you’re still standing at the harbor, staring at the horizon, trying to decide which ship to board, you’ll find plenty of ideas, clues, and motivation here to help you clear your mind and take the first step toward your new destination – and a new version of yourself.

Who I am and why I’m sharing this with you

If you already know me, you know I changed my life.

And you probably know it was travel that made me fall back in love with life.

For those who don’t know me yet: I was born and raised in Milan, Italy, and since 2019 I’ve been living in a city I never thought I’d call home: Las Vegas.

Between 20 and 33, I changed more than 30 jobs, collected anxiety and depression, and had two relationships that left me with nothing but emptiness. Nothing and no one could fill that void.

I often asked myself if this was really “all there is” – what other people called life: working with no real security, shallow relationships, friendships that barely scratched the surface. No matter where I was, a constant feeling of not belonging and not being enough filled my body, mind, and heart.

Everything just felt like it was stealing my time. And while everyone else seemed fine with that… I was screaming inside.

Back then, I was a girl who had never allowed herself the privilege of stepping out of her comfort zone.

Too much fear.

Too much insecurity.

Just the idea of being alone terrified me.

I wasn’t fully in control of myself yet, and I was afraid to make choices that felt too “out of the box,” too bold for others.

I grew up with impostor syndrome deeply rooted in my chest – but also with a burning rebellion that set every corner of my being on fire.

My first trip – The day everything changed

My first flight: more than a trip, a victory

At 28, I had never taken a flight alone.

Sounds crazy, right?

But it says a lot about how stuck I was – trapped by my upbringing, my thoughts, my personal experiences, and the cultural context I grew up in.

My dad, whom I lost suddenly at 23, had very traditional and conservative ideas, as many southern Italian men do. My adventurous, free-spirited, and sensitive nature was always a challenge for him. And me? I learned to hold myself back. To not trust.

A “safe” life that didn’t warm my heart

At 28, I was working at an English bank in downtown Milan.

I left home at 7:30 a.m. and came back at 7:30 p.m. every day. I had earned a “respectable” position, and at some point, the London headquarters offered me a job in Zone 1.

The fire of change had been burning inside me for a long time. Finally, a small spark of courage broke through my routine and negative thoughts: I decided to fly to London for an interview at the head office with the CEO.

With the help of a former colleague, I booked a flight to London.

The day I won my biggest battle

That first flight… was my biggest victory. I cried. I laughed like an idiot. For the first time, I was choosing myself. And I was heading straight into the unknown.

Because, yes: I had never even been to London before.

My first impression of a whole new world

I landed and felt like I had been catapulted into a whole new world. People looked different. Their clothes, the way they moved, the way they looked at each other – everything felt unfamiliar.

The first time in a new world is the same for everyone. You notice things others take for granted: the way people act, speak, eat, live; the houses, the colors, the smells… even the sky, with clouds racing across it at full speed.

It was a true sensory shock – but in the best way possible. Sure, at first it can feel disorienting. I spent the whole time with my eyes wide open, buzzing with that “first-time” adrenaline rush.

My first real test: Getting lost in London

My friend, who knew exactly what I was going through, did something that lit a spark of courage in me forever:

She let me wander and (literally) get lost in London.

That was my real test.

The interview? It ended up being the least interesting part of the trip.

I was terrified. And if you’ve ever been through this, you know exactly what I mean.

A million thoughts raced through my mind:

What if I get robbed?

What if I get attacked?

What if I take the wrong train?

What if I don’t have enough money?

What if I can’t explain myself and people think I’m weird?

What if I get arrested?

That’s your reptilian brain in full swing – throwing you into every worst-case scenario possible.

Here’s the thing: it’s normal. Know that it’s totally normal. No panic and… drumroll, please:

Welcome to your out-of-comfort zone, yay!!!

It’s a natural response we all have, so no worries.

But after the first 10 minutes, something amazing happens:

You realize none of those crazy scenarios are actually happening.

The world around you keeps moving, calm and peaceful, without even noticing you. And right at that moment, you start to relax – and a shy smile slowly replaces your Mr. Bean-in-panic expressions.

In fact… that’s when the real fun begins.

That’s when you start tasting your true freedom.

Level 1 accomplished: Welcome to Wonderland

You start making decisions.

Taking your first little experiments.

Picture this: you try new things and… no one notices a thing.

It might be walking into a place you’ve never been before and ordering some weird dish at that tiny Chinatown restaurant.

Or sipping your first real English tea – black as ink – not even knowing where to look, because in your country, that “English tea” was always fake, adapted to your culture just to be sellable.

And here’s the best part:

No one cares about your little discoveries.

No one’s watching you.

And that’s when the magic happens:

LEVEL 1 ACCOMPLISHED. Welcome to Wonderland!

A brain that will never go back

That sense of freedom will expand in your brain irreversibly.

Because now you know something huge: the world you grew up in is not the only possible reality.

Every single day, while you live your routine, millions of people live completely different lives – with habits, traditions, and customs that are the exact opposite of yours.

Isn’t that just amazing?

The first big questions

And that’s when the first real questions hit you – the ones that change everything:

• How many things are still out there that I don’t know, that I might love?

• How much time do I want to spend discovering them?

Wide-eyed wonder and a new realization

You feel like a kid – wide-eyed, full of adrenaline and dreams.

Just like I did the day I realized my life would never be the same.

I knew I wanted to learn more, to discover how many possible horizons life wears every single day – all without me even noticing.

Your comfort zone is lying to you

Right now, you’re probably living a life that’s “good enough."

Let me tell you something: that’s just your comfort zone whispering,

'You’re fine here. Don’t move.”

Your reptilian brain is simply trying to keep its homeostasis.

But here’s my invitation: disobey it. At least once.

Whether you’re tired or already on the road, don’t let that lizard living in your head keep you still for too long.

Set yourself a goal.

Book that trip you’ve been postponing.

Take that weekend you’ve been putting off.

Why should you do it?

“But why should I do it, Anna?”

Here’s why :

The growth you’ll experience by traveling and exploring the world can’t be compared to any school, not even the most prestigious one.

And I’m not talking about business, law, or marketing – those are just hard skills. Even if you learn them, it will be through theory that doesn’t really apply to you. In other words, you’ll be cut off from truly understanding those concepts.

Traveling, on the other hand…Taking that trip, throwing yourself into that experience, living it in first person – that’s what truly changes you.

You won’t be a side character in your own life anymore.

You’ll be the main character. Exactly as you should be.

Red pill or blue pill?

You can always choose not to choose.

But nothing opens your eyes to what truly matters like traveling.

Back then, I understood one thing:

I never wanted to go back. At least, not on the inside.

The trip that didn’t change me right away…but planted a seed

In the end, I didn’t take that job.

It required an inner effort that, at that point in my life, I simply couldn’t handle.

But that week in London gave me something far more precious:

I took with me that 30% of courage I could handle at the time – just enough to start a change.

A change that fully happened a few years later, when I moved to the USA with Sergio, the love of my life.

Coming back…but freer

I came back to Italy without a job. But with much clearer ideas about what truly mattered:

• I ended a relationship that had been making me miserable for too long.

• I realized that Sergio, whom I had met 12 years earlier, was the person of my life.

• And most importantly, I understood that I was worth more than anyone’s opinion – and I would never again let anyone shrink my expectations for life.

And yes…I promised myself I’d sit by as many seat-windows as possible, watching skies and new countries – from above to below, and from below towards new coordinates.

The big “BUT”

But here’s the big but.

You can’t access your personal Wonderland with prejudices, quick judgments, or the arrogance of thinking your reality is the only right one.

Because there will be no growth, no enriching experience, no breathtaking landscape that will ever change your life unless you put down your crown and scepter and blend – humbly – into the poetry and the thousand colors of the world.

 Why our eGuides are different

When we wrote our vacation-saving guides, we considered the cultural frictions that can show up while traveling.

Of course, common sense and personal attitude play a huge role in how you perceive an experience – but let’s be honest: Your cultural background can sometimes block you or even ruin your first time in a new place.

I know this because I’ve tested it on myself for years, and here in Las Vegas – the 4th most visited city in the U.S. – I’ve observed travelers from every culture and background for over three years.

Written for you, not just translated

That’s why we worked to minimize these cultural triggers, always keeping your perspective in mind.

Our guides are not just translated – they are culturally adapted:

• The guide you’ll find in English is not the same as the one in French, Italian, or Spanish.

• Each version is designed to “take you by the hand” and guide you through a journey that feels more familiar – where your inner “lizard brain” can observe without freezing you or ruining the experience before it even happens.

Instead, we want you to feel calmer, to enhance the experience, and to focus on what really matters: the discoveries, the connections, the growth – the things you might otherwise miss.

Training your mind for a new way of traveling

Our goal is to train your mind to see travel as a “friend,” not as a threat.

To lower your guard, make friends with the unknown, and raise your tolerance levels.

Because a trip experienced without mental barriers is not just more enjoyable… It’s life-changing.

Not just traveling, but truly seeing

And here’s the heart of it all:

We’re here to guide you through your awakening.

Our name says it all: GETAWAYK™. It’s a play on words that means:

“Get away and wake up!”

Not just “traveling”.

But seeing more clearly. Inside and out.