I'm going to take you back to the year 2007. You know the year when everyone wore 3/4 length leggings, the word emo was dropped into casual conversations and squeezing a digital camera into your tiny going-out bag was the norm.

I was knee-deep in my A-levels, all my friends were talking about UCAS applications and I was busy saving and planning for an around-the-world trip. I'd planned on having a gap year ever since I spent a summer in Cambodia. I'd smelt the freedom that travel gives you. I'd experienced the magic of a new culture and I'd tasted some of the possibilities that were only a plane ticket away. I bought a map and stuck it on the wall, opposite my bed. I went to sleep dreaming of the world and I woke up each morning knowing exactly what I was working for. I spent that summer working over 60 hours a week in 3 jobs. I needed money to travel, and I grafted.

That trip changed me. It was one of the first times I learnt the lesson of intuition and gut. I learnt how to follow my heart and I learnt about who I was and who I wanted to be. This was the spark that started Stories from a Backpack. I needed a place to document all these experiences. I needed to remember all these lessons I was learning. But most importantly, I needed a place where I could talk to other people who had been through the same transformative travel experience.

And then I did nothing.

My biggest travel regret  My biggest life regret is not writing it all down.

So now I'm on a mission to document it all. I even wrote a book about this. Life goes by so quickly. We don't remember most of it, but I want to dig deep and treasure my stories, share them and empower you to do the same. My biggest fear is looking back on my life and not being able to remember some of the most incredible parts. Stories from a Backpack is a place for all those restless souls. The wanderers who have returned and the explorers who aren't quite ready to set sail. Let's start remembering, documenting and sharing our stories because the world needs to hear them.