And counting

One might say, that even without me knowing, the way I was living my life, and my point of perception changed on Wednesday 20th of February 2013.
My flight from Athens to London was leaving at 19.10, all passengers are to be at the airport 2 hours earlier, and for some reason, on a day that the subway and the buses were on strike, I left my house just after 17. All I had with me was a heavy w?a?r?d?r?o?b?e? suitcase full of my sister’s things, no money for taxi, no available friend with mean of transport, just a lot of prayers, and a sudden faith to all gods.
In the end, after a lot of sweating and swearing, I arrived at the airport with less than 30 minutes to spare for all procedures, and I thought the hard part was over. But as it always turns out, I was wrong. With no signal reception at the airport, I had to get from Heathrow to North Acton, using 3 different lines, and as a lifeline I had to beg a girl for her phone and figure out the necessary stops. A last minute change of plans, and all I had to board was a bus from Hammersmith, and get off at a stop called “… Gardens”.
Surprisingly, I messed up, got off at the wrong stop at a late hour in the middle of nowhere, but in the end, it didn’t matter, because that’s how I met him. Until this day, I’m still realizing how this person, and the friendship that occurred after, affected me. The only visible after effect, is the trip one year later, for no apparent reason, apart from seeing each other again. It had to happen, because the illusion of communication through modern ways can only last that long.
The consequence most profound, is the cost of the trips. Not the financial one, but the emotional part. No matter the excuse or the pretext someone may use for travelling, trips cost you. But we tend to forget about it, because nowadays social media give you the illusion you can be everywhere all at once, no need of physical presence. Above all, trips cost us unreturnable time. So make sure you know what this is about. It could be for nothing, or everything, maybe out of boredom. It doesn’t even matter, just live it.
So maybe this text didn’t need to end up sounding as a preaching. Nevertheless, for me a trip is something serious, not to be taken light-heartedly. Because trips are about losing yourself living new experiences, foreign places, and meeting people, with whom you may not even be able to talk to. But at the same time, you discover yourself, based on your reactions, your thoughts. Based on you.