I met him somewhere up a hill going to a palace in a cute little place called Sintra in Portugal.  He was carrying this massive camera and we gladly asked him for pictures as we continued exploring together; him, my new hostel friend and I.

Not only did he quit his fancy well socially accepted job in finance to travel a year as we see so often on headlines of articles or journals, but he had no idea what to expect from it.

We all start from nowhere: We all have no clue how to travel when we start travelling.

For the first time, I was facing someone that was just starting his journey as a traveller. I could feel the frenetic excitement and joy and cluelessness of realising you just quit your job and have months of unexpected ahead.

With fears and doubts, but with a remarquable courage, a spoon of naiveness and a handful of crazyness

Not the courage to have quit his job and left everything behind to travel like so many dream of, but the courage to admit he had no clue how long it would be, if it was going to work out, if he could travel and make it within is money or if he would make it through.

Because it is scary to quit a job, with the certainties, security and stability, but it is even scarier to put yourself somewhere you’ve never been. Not only talking about travelling to new countries. It’s about potential loneliness, wonders, tiredness or constant movement; things we can only face when travelling, because home isn’t as unpredictable as the world can be.

I love that anyone, even someone that barely left its country before,  can decide he wants to put himself out there and see what the world has to share.

Now he walks the world with an inspiring glow, a bright smile and an open heart to try anything, talk to stranger, connect and make the most of it.

He even tried hitch hiking with us!

With a new camera, he’s gaining experience at filming, starting Vlogging and making its way on the globe with a definite passion for life and discoveries. I asked him what is goal was and he told me he would like to be paid to keep doing that; Vlogging maybe, travelling perhaps. I asked him if he really thought he could make it. He said yes. I smiled, he smiled.

He will give a shot at taking a flight toward its passion and it makes me happy.

I like to think he might never have gained this fire of trying it out if he hadn’t left his comfort zone. When you get out there, you might go even further than you thought. I’m excited to see what is ahead of him, because I’m one of the first person he met; at the beginning of a long, long journey.

The first step is to dare; he did

Follow his journey that just began on Youtube: Jandlepants