THE TRIP THAT TAUGHT ME MORE THAN SCHOOL EVER DID

I used to think learning only happens when you're sitting in a classroom. But then I took a trip by myself to Badagry, in Lagos, and it totally flipped my world upside down.

I remember getting on a bus from Mile 2 with just my backpack, a notebook, and this feeling that I wanted a new experience. I wasn't going for a chilled-out vacation. I wanted to feel something real – to feel part of history, to meet some folks, and maybe see a side of myself I didn't even know was there.

Badagry is bursting with stories. The kind they don't teach you in school. I went to the Slave Museum and that really sad place, Point of No Return. Walking the same route that thousands of enslaved Africans were forced to take to the sea... man, it hit me hard. You could almost hear their silence echoing around you. You could feel their strength, the power within them. And somehow, it felt like the weight of everything shifted onto my shoulders, like I was sharing their burden. I felt sad, but also motivated.

It wasn't all heavy stuff, though. I ate fresh coconut by the lagoon, watched the sunset turn the water to fire, and talked to people from the area who had smiles that could light up a room. I even made a friend – a young girl called Zainab – and she shared stories her grandma told her. You can't find stuff like that on the internet! Talking to her I felt like I was there with her as it was happening.

That drive across the country really showed me that life itself is the best teacher. We grow because of books, sure, but also from places, people, and those moments that catch you off guard. It's the unexpected things that shape you just as much as anything you can put your finger on.

So, if you're feeling stuck in a rut, maybe you don't need a new job or a fancy course. Maybe you just need a new view. A different path. Just get away and see. Maybe you will like what you see.

Traveling isn't always about fancy hotels and expensive dinners. Sometimes, it's about waking up and seeing the things you didn't even know you were missing in your life. It was like a breath of fresh air when you were drowning. Getting away will help you find what you were missing. You realize that it was there the whole time.