Back in October, we launched a competition in partnership with Timberlandasking you to write 500 words on where you feel most in your element. This was a chance for The Debrief to uncover the new and talented writers that we know are out there, and we weren't wrong! We received loads of great pieces, proving that you, The Debrief readers, are every bit as brilliant and witty as we expected. A huge thank you to all of you who entered; we loved reading every single one, whether it provided us with some much needed lols, some thoughtful insight or both.
Last week we announced the winner as Erin Cardiff, for her piece on travelling. Not only was it brilliantly funny, she nailed The Debrief tone and included the more poignant moments that come with travelling too, giving us a great insight into the reality of trekking across foreign countries. Now all we really want to know is what her 'Traveller Douche' tattoo is.
What's clear from the competition, is that there's a ridiculous amount of young talented people out there and we want to hear more from you. So rest-assured, this is the start of many more collaborations and competitons.
READ MORE: Want To Work For The Debrief? We're Looking For An Editor-At-Large
You can read the full article below. Congratulations, Erin!
J.R.R Tolkien said that not all who wander are lost. Well, Tolkien along with the ink of every 'lad' on a Thai island-hopping tour who packed getting a tattoo into their busy schedules of wearing deep v's and downing Chang at 9am. Well, no disrespect to Portsmouth Pussy Patrol 2k14, but I disagree. When I decided to travel the world, I was, like most twenty-somethings, pretty lost. And I wouldn't have had it any other way.
I always wanted to travel, but for a long time it remained an abstract notion. Something I was sure I'd tick off one day, but not right now. Kinda like getting married or mothering Leonardo DiCaprio's children. Sometimes all you need to motivate you is a swift kick to the shin, and mine came in the form of everybody's friend - redundancy. When the magazine I worked for relocated and I couldn't move with them, I found myself unceremoniously unemployed. And after days of moping, sheepishly removing the job title I'd boastfully put on my Facebook page just over a year before, I realised I had a choice. I could stay where I was; in bed, eating various condiments out the jar, or I could put a stopper in my self-pity and see the situation as an opportunity to take my young, unattached arse out into the world.
Fast-forward a few months, a lot of money saving and 'hilarious' afternoon of my sister following me around Boots as I bought medicine, shouting “DO YOU NEED DIARRHOEA PILLS?” across the aisles at pumping volume and I, along with two friends, arrived in Bangkok to start our five month trip.
And it that five months, along with the timeless grossness of durian fruit and the fact that I cannot ride a motorbike, I discovered that my element was, well, not having one. I loved the uncertainty of travelling. You could go to bed and wake up in a different city, country - even time zone. For somebody whose identifier so far in life was: "she's a worrier", this was huge. Being in these incredible parts of the world, knowing I was unlikely to ever visit again stirred this bravery in me. I was determined to squeeze every drop of experience out of these five months and the only way that was going to happen was to sack up and say yes. Yes to climbing up mountains and down mines. Yes to eating deep fried insects. Yes to staying out all night because you have nowhere to be in the morning.
Travelling is my element. The freedom. The ever-growing hunger to see yet more of the world. And, sure, the incredible views don't hurt. Maybe I came home a walking cliché, banging about how I met amazing people, how my mind felt broader and that I couldn't wait to fill up my backpack and go again, but that's because the clichés are true.
*I even arrived home with a Traveller Douche tattoo of my own. Sorry, mum. *
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.