Have you ever found yourself to be lost and aimless? Have you ever found yourself in a place where conformity seemed to be the best option?
Why stand out when it’s so easy to blend in? Why try to do something remarkable and risk failure? Why take the leap when it’s so easy to fall to the abyss?
Why not just settle down and let life run its course? Why not just to take advantage of those safety nets and stay in your hometown with the people you already know doing the things you already do? Why not be someone else instead of being yourself?
That was the story of my life a couple of years ago. You see, the worst part about depression is that the last person to notice it is yourself. Ever wondered how a person can go from conformity to empowerment? This is the story of the man who broke the chains. This is the story of Raphael Alexander Zoren. This is my story.
Enjoy it, my friends.
My Life of Boring Conformity 1990-2010
Before I started my journey to the lands beyond my home, I was a very ordinary person. I didn’t hate my life but I didn’t really love it either. I was afraid of change, I was afraid of the unexpected, I was afraid of what society might think of me.
I was willing to conform, to never question authority, to finish my studies, work, get married, buy a car, get a house, raise children, die old and never do something remarkable to be remembered for. In this grave lies Raphael, an unremarkable man. He loved, he lived, he died. End of story.
My daily life consisted of going to school, socialising with friends, returning back home, doing my homework, going out every weekend to the same places with the same people. And repeat everything else once Monday arrives with the same old routine.
I never even bothered to appreciate the beauty of my hometown of Acapulco since I took it for granted. Yes, I was one of those people.
As I grew older I soon began to be aware about the social inequalities that existed in my society. You see, the only reason I was able to attend one of the top 5 colleges in my country was because of a scholarship that I earned due to my hard work.
In my college years I was a poor man in the land of the rich and instead of embracing that I decided to do my best in order to join a club that deep down I knew it wasn’t for me.
I sold out. I got students loans to buy the trendiest clothes with the trendiest watches and shoes in order to blend it and be someone I was not instead of standing out by being who I really was.
I was depressed without even noticing it and it was killing me inside.
It wasn’t a bad life. It just wasn’t life at all.
My Life of Doubts and Transformation 2010-2013
In 2010 I was one of the selected few to take part in a student exchange to Montreal, Canada, my first time out of the country. The smile I had when I got off the plane was the first authentic smile that I experienced during my college years. Luckily, it wasn’t the last.
You see travel changes people since it makes them get out of their comfort zone and encourages them to have new experiences. It also gives you the chance to discover new things about yourself that not even you knew they existed.
It was during my time abroad (both in Canada and France) that I unleashed my inner potential. I became less materialistic as time went by and soon I stopped to ever think about what other people might think of me. I am who I am and you can either love it or hate it.
I don’t care.
People are nothing but a reflection of their own life experiences and I cannot help but wonder what could have happened to me if it wasn’t for my experience abroad.
Would I still be lost and aimlessly? Would I still be pretending to be someone I was not? Would I still be depressed without even noticing it? So many questions and so little answers but hey, why dwell back in the past if the present is much more exciting?
Travel changed my life. I found a personal meaning of what’s truly important in my own life and I’ve never looked back to the person I was before. I am Raphael Alexander Zoren, The Man of Wonders. And I welcome you to my world of unlimited freedom and empowerment.
However, at the end of day of this stage of my life there was still one doubt that remained inside of me: How can I help and empower other people to unleash their own inner potential?
My dear friends, that was the day that Journey Wonders was born.
My Life of Unlimited Freedom 2013-∞
Journey Wonders was born to document my life of unlimited freedom and to empower everyone in the world to travel abroad in order for them to unleash their own inner potential. I believe in all of you and all I need is for you to believe in yourself as well.
Tell me, are you willing to conform or do you want to achieve something else, something greater? Don’t conform. Be yourself. Be unique. Break the mold. Travel. Live. Laugh. Experience. And above all, always give back to those who need it more than you.
The only way to eliminate social inequality is through empowerment and trust me, you and I can do it together.
I know we can.
And you see, right now most of the world suffers from depression without even being aware of it. They are blinded by people telling them the things they should have instead of focusing on the things they truly need.
People are dying because of it and it’s up to you and I to help spread the word in order to heal this planet that we live on. There’s no other road to happiness than your own road, your own journey of wonders.
My life calling is to give you the motivation and guidance to explore the many wonders that this world has to offer and to improve your life in every single very positive way so please, DO send me e-mails with all your questions and I’ll get back to you.
Also, remember to subscribe to our Newsletter of Wonders in order to be the first one to get the latest articles and exclusive offers.
Travel helped me grow to be a better person and now it’s my time to help you. Let’s embark a new journey of wonders together and empower the people of the world!
