I was about to go into my senior year of college, working a full-time remote job, tired of living in the same town I had spent my life growing up in, and hadn’t crossed much off my bucket list in the last 2 years. I wanted to explore and see the world, push myself out of my comfort zone, and of course seeing everybody living out my dreams on Tik Tok wasn’t helping with that fantasy.
I always felt like prior to going on this adventure, aside from, you know, typical 3-week luxury vacations in Europe, or a weeklong adventure trip that long-term travel and backpacking always looked so glamorous. Everyone was out and about, meeting new people, they always looked happy.
After being in the Western world for well my entire life, the buzz and bustle of Istanbul was a dream. People from all over and in every direction in constant movement.
