If the Haircut Doesn’t Work, Try Travelling

Sometimes, I say that I almost dread travelling, but deep down, I always know its power. Travelling has always held the potential to heal. This isn’t a new idea—many rom-coms and coming-of-age stories begin with the heroine setting off on a journey. Whether alone or with friends, the trip often follows heartbreak, upheaval, or some pivotal turning point.

Of course, there are cheaper ways to heal. A post-breakup haircut—a symbolic snip to shed old tangles—has its own kind of magic. But if I had a choice, I would always choose to travelling. I often wonder how different life would have been if I had been allowed more freedom to explore when I was younger. My curiosity wouldn’t have needed to scream for attention from behind a blindfold. I’ve learned that the answer has always been movement—getting away, even temporarily, from the life I know too well.

One moment still lingers in my mind, from around the time I started this blog. Back then, I didn’t need advice or distractions. I needed escape. I wish I had had the resources to put my miserable self on a plane, go somewhere unfamiliar, and allow myself to rediscover who I was in a new landscape. Looking back, I know travelling would have offered the perspective and release I was craving.

Because that’s what travelling does—for me at least. It interrupts routine (in my case, an endless, self-inflicted to-do list), rewires perspective, and offers the gift of distance. Alongside time, as the media says—and I can attest—it is one of the most powerful healing tools.

So if you find yourself restless, grieving, or quietly searching for something you can’t quite pinpoint (like my younger self did many times), consider whether what you truly need is a trip. A haircut can lighten the weight you carry on your mind, but a journey might enlighten your soul.

As for me, I claim my reason for travelling to reclaim the parts of myself shackled by being a brown woman—yet I wonder, have I truly healed? Perhaps that’s why I shall keep travelling.

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