![VW campervan in a field](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Campsite-photo-470x140.jpg)
Lessons from a grown-up gap year last a lifetime. Recently I celebrated my 39th birthday and while most people wait to turn the big 4-0…
![Coming home after travelling](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ascot-470x140.jpg)
One of the biggest surprises I had when coming home after travelling was how long it took me to adjust back to ‘real life’. Before…
I felt compelled to write this post after chatting with someone on Twitter who was really struggling to get back into work after returning from…
![What If?](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ems-photos-059-470x140.jpg)
There are few times over the last year when I’ve questioned what I’m doing. Travelling has always been the big love in my life so,…
![Home Sweet Home](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf3732-470x140.jpg)
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and…
![#30 Go to the London 2012 Olympics with my family](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf3263-470x140.jpg)
I actually can’t think of a better time to arrive home than during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Maybe it was the fact that my family…
![Coming Home...](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf2791-470x140.jpg)
So after nine months, nine countries and 29 things on a list, I’m heading home to do number 30 with my favourite people in the…
![Half-way worries](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/themes/oxygen/images/archive-thumbnail-placeholder.gif)
It’s official. I have passed the mid-way point of my trip. It all happened so suddenly. One moment I was moseying along with months and…