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JULIA🌻

@juliiaekstrom

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📍PARIS
Travel Buddy @worldpackers 🌍✈️
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Sometimes life doesn’t ask if you’re ready. ✨
It just puts a door in front of you and whispers: walk through.
Ericeira.
Three days.
Twenty unknown souls.
And suddenly the world expands.💙
Thank you @worldpackers for the trust.
Once again you manage to change my life,
putting me in front of beautiful people
to share this journey with.
F*ck fear.
A new chapter is opening.
And this time I’m writing it barefoot, with salt on my skin and an open heart.
My Travel Buddy era just started.
🌊✨
#BasecampEriceira #TravelBuddy #Worldpackers #FuckFear #NewChapter

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Fa 7 anys em carregava per primer cop la motxilla a l’esquena per marxar sola a Portugal. Una motxilla carregada de coses innecessàries, dubtes, moltes pors i incomptables inseguretats. Recordo entrar a l’aeroport de Barcelona i començar a plorar. I recordo marxar de Portugal dos mesos més tard, també plorant.

Amb 19 anys, pocs diners i cap anell que se’m pugues caure, vaig descobrir @worldpackers . I just fa un mes, vaig rebre un mail seu, convidant-me a passar un cap de setmana a Ericeira. Tornar a Portugal, convidada per aquella gent que un dia em va ensenyar que no calia ser ric per veure món. Sense pensar-m’ho (que és com faig la majoria de les coses) vaig acceptar.

No puc escriure amb paraules lo bonic que és ajuntar-se amb gent que també plorava al seu aeroport abans del seu primer viatge sol. Persones amb les mateixes preguntes i inquietuds que jo. I persones d’aquelles que vols escoltar parlar durant hores.

Gràcies, gràcies, gràcies @worldpackers ✨🩵🤞

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Seven years ago, I put a backpack on my shoulders for the first time and left for Portugal on my own. A backpack filled with unnecessary things, doubts, so many fears, and countless insecurities. I remember walking into Barcelona airport and bursting into tears. And I remember leaving Portugal two months later, crying too.

At 19, with little money and no fear of getting my hands dirty, I discovered @worldpackers. A month ago, I received an email from them inviting me to spend a weekend in Ericeira. Going back to Portugal, invited by the people who once taught me that you don’t have to be rich to see the world. Without giving it a second thought (which is how I do most things), I said yes.

I can’t put into words how beautiful it is to meet people who also cried at the airport before their first solo trip. People with the same questions and restlessness as you. And people you could listen to talking for hours.

I couldn’t be more grateful, @worldpackers.es 🩵🌟🌍

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One week ago we said "See you soon!" - it was not a goodbye.
After having spent the whole weekend together, doing different activities and having amazing conversations I left Ericeira full of inspiration, love and gratefulness. Out of 200 applications only few of us were selected to be a part of this amazing gathering - and we could feel how truly special it was from the second we arrived 💫

I did my first volunteering trip through @worldpackers almost 3 years ago and travelling has changed me forever. All the experiences you make while being away from home and being forced to get out of your comfort zone is something you can't understand if you haven't lived it. But we all know. We have all been there and I think that's why we clicked from the very first second because we all have faced the same fears once - maybe it was when we got on that first flight or stepped into a hostel dorm for the first time 👀

I am endlessly grateful for having had the chance to be a part of this and the people who therefore came into my life. Every single story is so inspiring and that's how you got reminded once again that you are never alone. Sometimes you might think that your situation is really bad and no one understands you - but I can tell you whatever it is, at some point someone else had to face the same thing and had the same thoughts as you.
One afternoon we opened up and shared our fears in front of everyone. We had to write down one word that is holding us back right now from doing something we want to do. Whether it's "money", "expectations" or "loneliness" - some of us even had the same fears and we all could relate to what the others were saying. That was super emotional as well as inspiring 🙌🏼

There was one central thing that became our motto on that weekend - and that is F*CK FEAR! Fear is only as big as you let it be - so do it scared. You will figure things out along the way - because you have to. I know that every single one of my new friends can confirm that. Step out of your comfort zone cause that's the only way to grow. And if you don't have anyone to do it with DO IT ALONE. You don't know what's waiting out there for you! 🐾🌎

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I wanna say it all started a few weeks ago, when I got the email from @worldpackers and with it, the chance to go to beautiful ericeira, meet a group of girls (and kevin) from all over, who ended up connecting in the most special way over the reason why we’re all here… traveling, and got to talk about exactly that…

it all actually started when I signed up for worldpackers. like everyone who’s reading this who probably doesn’t travel that much, even though they might really want to, I was terrified… I was about to go do this volunteering in exchange for a stay in this hostel and well, that sounds pretty unreal no? I mean, what if it went wrong? but guess, what, I shook and slightly sobbed all the way to the airport, and it went so right! ☺️ one volunteer experience became more than 10, one trip became so many I’ve lost count, one fear became the desire to see more, discover more, meet more people and connect with them. and suddenly, there was no more fear…

I found myself ❤️ I found a passion for being on the move, for living the life that I want because I want it so much I might be sobbing a bit writing this post. and sometimes I do still sob on the plane… because I realize how much my life has been changing and still does, every time I put myself out there in the world…

and now I found these people that know exactly what I mean/feel/sob about without me even having to try to explain it. and now we’re all here, thinking about everything we experienced in ericeira, and which I tried to put into a post but there’s just so much more behind the scenes. but above it all, there’s a new motivation to travel and a new mission behind it: being a Travel Buddy ✈️ for the ones who like me, felt the fear and sobbed. for the ones that let that fear take over. for the ones that didn’t go. YET. I wanna be there for them, support them, tell them that I was scared and now I’m just in love with traveling. that it’s the first step to so many amazing things that sit right on the other side of fear… f*ck fear!

I’ll keep you updated on what I’m planning as a Travel Buddy! meanwhile, do check out @worldpackers and maybe go volunteer or do a trip with them! 🩵

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This one is for all of you that maybe wanted to ask but never did.
@worldpackers is how I made it to South America this year and marocco the year before.
This past weekend I got the chance to meet the people behind it, the ones that made it easier for me to travel and it was such a pleasure.
Loved meeting all of you, it always amazes me how you can know someone for 3 days and somehow be sure they’re gonna be in your life for a long long time. So see ya my travel buddies 🤞
Also how cool that it was in Portugal, forever in my heart, first place that I went to volunteer at, changed my life 🌊
Shoutout to my og Worldpackers travel buddy @gracecallbeck, if you were not so cool, who knows what I would do 🤷🏼‍♀️

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Glad midsommar önskar jag och Sassi! ☀️🐶🌺🌼🌻🌼

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italian diary

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Meu primeiro Midsommar na Suécia 🇸🇪

thank you so much for this incredible experience @juliiaekstrom 💙

#viajar #midsummer

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Euro Summer at last 💐🌻☀️🌊🐚

Junho, 14

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Final Part 3- Spain

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Oh sweet Mexicoooo - left with a belly full of tacos and a heart full of pure happiness 🫶 big s/o to the incredible peeps on this one! Been one helluvah winter 🏝️😝

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2024: höga toppar och låga dalar, men här är en minut av det finaste jag lyckades dokumentera i bildgalleriet ❤️ Gott nytt!

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