My Life Story: Following My Heart & Finding My Purpose

Life sometimes pushes our boundaries, forcing us to leave our comfort zone. Both of these are part of my life story.

When it happens, I believe we need to respond instead of ignoring the calling and staying within the old-known tracks of life (no matter how difficult it gets). So, I decided to follow my heart, and go for it all despite all the challenges and fear.

I knew inside me that life was much more than just going to school, coming back, going out, and eventually going to bed and sleeping. Since I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to make the most of my life, see as much of the world, and explore various cultures. I wanted to experience how people live, what kind of problems they tackle, what they believe in.

The idea of getting stuck in one place, believing in everything they told us at school when I was a child, didn’t seem right. I wanted to understand and see through my own eyes what the world is all about and help others.

But I knew I needed to get out of my comfort zone first and gain some language skills. And so I started working on it.

👉 I believe life is meant to be lived outside of our comfort zone, constantly facing our fears, to be able to live it fully and aligned with our purpose. How do we achieve this? By following our inner voice because it will always tell us what’s right. 🥰

Growing Up In Slovakia

I grew up in a small Slovakian town with limited self-beliefs. It feels like not much is going on; we are just going to work and school in the morning and coming back late in the evening, where we go to church every Sunday and sometimes meet with other families for lunch.

Once a year, go on holiday and return to the routine.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to complain or say anything bad about my hometown or such routine. I know many of us to live such a life.

Still, I guess the environment, influenced by the Soviet era and wars, made the aura and people around me even more enclosed and pessimistic. Living there made me feel there was something much more than such a life routine.

How I Started Learning Foreign Languages

I wanted to discover more of this beautiful world. But at the same time, I was afraid of the big unknown, of getting lost in the huge world out there. Yet, I took an English textbook and started to learn vocabulary (my native language is Slovak).

I knew I wouldn’t get far without languages, so whenever I returned from school as a teenager, I dedicated my time to learning English.

Later, I started picking some German, too. And while living this routine, I kept dreaming about leaving one day and seeing the world.

Taking First Steps To The Unknown

At 17, I was going through some challenging times when things didn’t go well in my family. Also, I was disappointed by love and felt generally lonely and slightly lost. But I understood that life was trying to teach me a lesson and made me push my boundaries.

Therefore, I decided to make my first big journey to the unknown. I found a high school exchange program in New Zealand that summer and decided to participate. I started collecting as much information as possible and learning English more than ever.

It didn’t feel like running away from problems or my feelings; rather, it was a journey to self-discovery of who I truly am and what I want to do in my life.

So, one summer day in 2012, I told my parents I was going to New Zealand for half a year. They were shocked (mainly my mum), but luckily, my dad supported this idea. I’m so grateful he always supported me in my crazy dreams. 😊

Life & Travels In New Zealand

So there it came. In January 2013, I packed my bags and set off on the yet biggest adventure. I spent half a year with Kiwis in Christchurch, on the Southern Island of New Zealand.

I was going to school and living with a lovely host family. It was my first experience being far away from home alone, living in a completely different culture. At first, it was not easy, but I never stopped appreciating where I was and what I got to experience.

When we had school holidays in April, I decided to travel through the South Island and explore other unique places. I was amazed by the beauty, as I had never experienced anything like that before.

We traveled in a group and slept in tents while exploring the highlights like Kaikoura, Christchurch, Mt. Cook, Dunedin, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Franz Joseph Glacier, Abel Tasman National Park, and much more.

It was a time for me when I could truly see who I was and grow as a person. It was a new opportunity to shape who I wanted to be and not be limited by others who wanted me to be the person they pictured – that’s when I discovered the power of travel!

My Reverse Cultural Shock & Returning To Slovakia

When my New Zealand life was coming to an end, I was sad. Even though I was excited to go back home and share my thoughts with family and friends, I soon experienced a reverse cultural shock. That was when I realized that I had a worse cultural shock coming home than when traveling to a new country.

This experience changed me forever, and I started thinking that it was something I’d like to do more of.

Sometimes, we are so locked in our homes, struggling with things that we are going through, that we think we are having the worst time ever.

Our routine pushes us to be silent and just follow the rules. However, I realized that traveling opens your heart and broadens your horizons to become the greater version of yourself.

You see how people live on the other side of the Earth, what problems they have to deal with and conclude that we are all the same and everybody goes through some struggles.

So it’s only your choice how you’ll spend every day living your life and what impact you can make.

Traveling changed me so much that I could not relate anymore to some people back home.

What is more, I could not integrate into the routine I had before my New Zealand life. I also realized that some people around me weren’t interested in hearing about my adventure. And so, once I got back from my New Zealand adventure, I kind of felt lonely again.

Nevertheless, I found out that it is something that drives me, something I want to do in my life as much as I can: travel, speak languages, and experience other cultures.

👉 I believe we need to find our passions/unique gifts inside us, follow our dreams by using our gifts/passions and spread these gifts to the world – this is what living aligned with our purpose means to me.

High School Graduation – Languages – What’s Next?

I had my graduation year ahead of me in high school. Besides studying for my final exams, I opened the English and German textbooks even more and was learning these 2 languages. I wanted to continue my studies abroad, so I wanted to improve my language skills. I also started to pick up some French.

Eventually, I found a University in Salzburg, Austria, that offered a tourism management degree in combination with languages. I realized I wanted to follow my passions and do something related to travel tourism and languages, and this degree perfectly combined my two passions, so I decided to apply.

Before my final exams in high school, I got a letter that I was accepted, and I was super excited. A new adventure was ahead of me.

My University Studies In Salzburg

So, after high school, I packed my bags to start another chapter of my life – University studies in Austria. Being nervous but, at the same time, super excited, I moved to Salzburg and lived there for 3 years.

I loved my university, the people, my classmates, and the city of Salzburg and its surroundings. Besides, I was working to finance my studies and my life there, so I started working as a waitress during my free time. I served customers and helped with congresses, huge events, and weddings.

That experience helped me to improve my German a lot. And thanks to studying German during my high school studies, I got a job in the first place.

TUI, Travel Agency & Tour Escorting

In addition to my University degree, we had to gain experience within the tourism field to complete our studies. In the first year, I started looking for opportunities in the job market and explored what the tourism sector offers.

In the summer after my first study year, I worked for a travel agency in Slovakia, where I interned for two months.

Later, I was looking for other opportunities when I got a contract with a TUI tour operator escorting English groups during their skiing holidays in Austria.

But my most exciting job was yet to come. I applied to be a tour director for AESU, a tour operator based in Baltimore, USA, but also in Vienna.

Escorting US Groups Through Europe

Initially, I didn’t believe they would accept my application as I was only 19 years old and too young to escort groups on tours through Europe. I hadn’t even been to many places by myself, so it scared the sh* out of me.

Still, it sounded like an absolute dream job, so I followed my inner voice and sent the application despite all my doubts.

Nevertheless, they invited me for an interview in Vienna. After two months of waiting and a 3-day intense workshop/training, I eventually got a call from our boss, who told me I was accepted and my first tour would start in two weeks.

Imagine how excited I was (crying and jumping in my dorm room for 2 hours). Soon, managing and escorting group tours became a reality for me.

In May 2016, I packed my bags for the first tour. It was training tour for me, so I joined a group led by another tour director and was learning everything on the way.

Working As A Tour Manager

Since then, I have done it every year in the summer alone, and I have fallen in love with this job. So, I started working as a tour director, leading groups of American college graduates through Europe.

Each tour takes from 2 weeks up to 1 month. We usually start in London, and the tour continues through France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Italy and finishes in Greece.

I have gained so much experience from traveling with groups and have kept doing it until now. I absolutely love it. It has allowed me to travel even more and live my passions (traveling & languages) and explore this wonderful world while helping and inspiring others, showing them these European beauties.

💎 The excitement I see in them when visiting these places makes me so happy in return.

👉 Without overcoming my fear and stepping out of my comfort zone again (despite all my doubts), I would never have had to do this dream job and meet such amazing people who have shaped my personality beyond anything else.

It has not been easy to tackle various problems on the road, and sometimes, you have to go to places you haven’t been to by yourself (while taking care of 35 other people who rely on you).

But I just looked up at the sky every morning, no matter how scared I was, and said: ‘God, I don’t know how I will do this, but I trust it will go well! I will let you lead me and manage everything that comes my way.’

My University Exchange Semester (Erasmus)

Back to my University studies… In my third year of studies, I got to choose an exchange program for half a year, studying at a different University. And what was my choice?

In my first year of University, I started taking Spanish classes, which I loved. Therefore, I enrolled in an exchange program in Spain to improve my Spanish. My Uni partnered with a University in Barcelona, so I switched places for half a year.

I again packed my bags, left my temporary hometown, Salzburg, and headed for another adventure, but this time a Spanish one.

My University Studies In Barcelona

My goal was to have fun, travel as much of Spain as I could, and improve my Spanish language, so I signed up for a two-week Spanish course in Barcelona in August before the Uni started.

I found a room in an apartment rented by a Spanish girl, so I moved in. I attended the Spanish course every day while studying Spanish. I was also happy to live and practice Spanish with my flatmate (who was luckily patient enough to listen to me, although my Spanish skills were quite poor at that time). 🙈😅

In September, I started my University courses. I also took a Spanish tour guiding course. At the end of the year, I got to guide the entire class through Barcelona’s old town, speaking Spanish.

This experience pushed my boundaries even more, and despite being scared and having basic Spanish skills, I did it.

Living & Traveling In Spain

That half a year studying in Barcelona and enjoying life was one of the best times of my life. I was also very excited to spend it with my other friends from Salzburg.

They are as passionate travellers as I am. Together, we made a road trip from Barcelona to Andorra and travelled through Catalunya’s hidden gems.

We also experienced the crazy La Tomatina festival and had so much fun together.

Big 2-Month Trip Adventure With My Friend

Once my exchange semester ended, my friend Gunel and I made a huge travel plan. She is truly one of the craziest persons I have ever met (the same as me :D), and we decided to travel through Spain together.

We explored southern Spain and visited more places like Toledo, Madrid, Valencia, and Alicante. Then, we flew to the south of France and explored many cities, including Toulouse, Montpelier, Carcassonne, Marseille, and Chamonix.

Eventually, we crossed the Swiss border and visited Geneve and Zurich.

As we didn’t want our trip to end, we extended our journey. Gunel is from Azerbaijan, so we also decided to explore her country. She flew home, and I visited Slovakia to see my family.

After one week, I took a bus from Slovakia to Ukraine, visited Kyiv, and flew to Baku, Azerbaijan. We spent an incredible two weeks traveling through Azerbaijan. Ultimately, we also made it to Georgia, Tbilisi (on a night train).

This journey, starting in Barcelona and finishing in Tbilisi, took us over 2 months. It has been an unforgettable experience and the biggest trip I had made until then in my life.

I’ve created many travel itineraries from this trip, so you can get some inspiration for your travels, too.

University Graduation & Life After Studies

After our incredible trip, we returned to Salzburg to finish our Bachelor’s studies. I graduated in June 2017. (The little guy in the photo is my brother :)).

That summer, I kept working in Salzburg as a tour director, escorting groups through Europe while saving up.

In September, I decided to return to Barcelona (not entirely my decision though) and spend some time there. I started working for a tour operator, Europe Express, where I designed travel itineraries for US groups traveling through Europe.

I loved that job so much because I was always passionate about organizing trips and putting travel itineraries together.

However, at that time, I was going through another challenging time when my family also moved to Barcelona. Many problems occurred for my family in Slovakia. That is why they came to Barcelona; they wanted to start a new life.

As much as I was willing and happy to help them, I felt so much pressure and burden on my shoulders. I felt lost and just worked daily to financially support my family.

My Big Step To The Unknown

In the middle of 2018, I couldn’t resist it all anymore. I felt like I didn’t live, my soul was literally dying. I decided to make a big step into the unknown. I quit my job and saved the entire salary from my last month there.

I didn’t know what would happen, where life would guide me, and if I would make it. But I felt like I had to do it. Rather, going into the unknown and striving for a better life than staying depressed in one place, hoping for a better future under pressure.

So, in August 2018, I packed my only backpack with the most necessary things, booked a one-way flight to Milano, and headed to Switzerland.

Swiss Cheese Farming – Reflecting On Life & Traveling

As I worked for a tour operator in Barcelona, I got many contacts for Swiss partners. I discovered an opportunity for a 14-day farm stay in the Swiss mountains. I didn’t know what to expect from this, but I knew I needed to rest, be in nature, feel the quietness and power of the mountains, and reflect on my life.

I decided to book this farm stay, so I booked that one-way flight and headed to Switzerland. During that time, I helped a Swiss family make Alpine cheese in their hut, surrounded by Swiss mountains.

It was such a blessing being far away from the rush of the world and reflecting on who I was (without anybody again programming me to who they wanted me to be) and what I truly wanted to do.

After my farming experience, I decided to stay in Switzerland for an additional week. I fulfilled my yet biggest dream of seeing this spectacular country.

Thanks to the tour operator I worked for in Barcelona, I was granted a Swiss Travel Pass, allowing me to travel almost the entire country for a penny and see the Swiss highlights. What a blessing! I felt incredibly grateful.

After my Swiss adventure, I had to face reality a little bit :D. As I was (kind of homeless) at that time, I had to manage my life somehow. I felt like Prague would be a good place to start all over again.

I thought to myself, it is a big city where I have job opportunities, but at the same time, it is not so expensive so I could survive until I find the job.

Life In Prague

To make a long story short, I spent a year living and working in Prague. At that time, I was also teaching languages to locals, establishing my new routine there, and trying to make every penny to support my life.

After that, I wanted to save up some money for more travel and my life in general, so I took a big step and decided to move to Switzerland.

As Switzerland was known for some of the highest salaries in Europe and a great quality of life, I gave it a try.

Moving To Switzerland

While it wasn’t my dream job, I told myself I would stick to it for at least two years and save up for my future life as much as I could (to pay off a debt I had and eventually gain more freedom with my savings later on).

COVID-19 happened during that time, too, and I was still lucky to work. I was working as a receptionist in Swiss hotels (I tried three different hotels and lived in three places in Switzerland during that time – Davos, Flims, and Grindelwald).

My German skills helped me again, thanks to which I got these jobs and learned so many new skills.

The first year I started working in Switzerland (in 2020), I created my own travel blog to share my experiences with the world – so that’s how Voices of Travel was born.

While working my 9-5 in Switzerland, I was also working on my blog, and I told myself I wouldn’t give up as I wanted to start sharing my thoughts and messages with the world.

Starting My Business – Voices Of Travel

By following my inner voice again, I started my own business Voices of Travel, where I combine my two passions – TRAVEL & LANGUAGES.

I create travel itineraries (based on my travel experience and work as a tour director) so you can explore this beautiful world without planning too much.

I would also like to inspire you to learn languages for travel. Because languages have supported me on my own journey a lot, I would like to inspire you to learn them as well – so they can change your life, too.

Finding My Dream Place

Fast forward 2024, I had a major life change again. I left Switzerland in 2022 as it was no longer serving me. I was grateful for all the opportunities and experiences. Still, I felt like I needed to grow more as a person.

So, I’ve decided to guide more groups for G Adventures and keep guiding US travel groups through Europe with AESU.

After 5 years of wanting to be a tour leader full-time, I finally made it happen. I also went through a major breakdown in my personal life. And where else to put yourself back together than in nature?

👉 I truly believe nature has the power to help humans reconnect with themselves, reflect, heal, and generate new ideas for their lives.

Hiking In The Dolomites

So that’s exactly what I did. I went hiking to the Dolomites (Italy) in the summer of 2024 (it’s always been my dream). I was so grateful to have this time alone to heal my soul and think about what was next in life.

Have you ever heard about generational curses (traumas)? That’s something I was processing in the Dolomites as well and it helped me immensely – maybe you’re meant to break some curses in your family, too. Look it up! 🤗

As you can see, my life has already been crazy enough, and I have been praying to have a home, my own little sanctuary, for the past years (after moving through so many places and sleeping on a different place as a guide every other night).

The Dolomites were the first place where I felt so incredibly happy, and I told myself, ‘If everything came to an end now, I would happily stay here. It was the first place I didn’t want to leave, and I felt like settling there.

After my hiking experience, I guided travel groups for the next four months while thinking it through. But the feeling didn’t go away, and the fact that it was the first place I didn’t want to leave was probably a sign that I should move there.

So, I found my first apartment in the Dolomites, and now, I have made the dream of my own little sanctuary a reality.

Voices Of Travel Expeditions

It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made so far. Yet again, I followed my heart. Now, I get to work on my own projects, and I feel more aligned with myself than ever before.

While I plan more travel itineraries for my clients and inspire them to learn languages for travel, I also organize my own expedition tours.

I would like to take you to these beautiful places I’ve experienced and seen, give you the time to relax, connect with like-minded people, and inspire you even more to follow your inner voice. Because I strongly believe it will lead you to where you need to be.

So, if you want to be part of one of my expeditions, write me an email: info(at)voicesoftravel.com.

I hope my life story inspires you in some way or another. I also hope to see you one day on one of my expeditions so I can share even more with you and to hear your story, too. 😊

My 3 Messages For Your

That’s my story and the messages I wanted to share with you guys with complete honesty. I encourage you never to be scared of anything. Open up your heart and live the life you want.

Lastly, I would like to leave 3 messages for you:

✅ Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone Despite All Fears

I encourage you through my story that whatever is happening in your life, whatever you are going through, tell yourself you will make it. If you are unhappy, don’t close your eyes in front of what’s happening, and don’t wait until it is away (because it might not go away).

Open your eyes and face reality. Change it; leave the stuff that makes you unhappy. Many people tell you that you are running away from things instead of facing them and trying to solve them.

But, some things in life are just better to leave and start over again. Sometimes, trying to face reality and trying to change it doesn’t lead to happiness. You need to truly understand what you struggle with and how you can change it for the better.

💡 And sometimes, it just means leaving everything behind.

✅ Follow Your Passions & Things That Drive You

I would like to encourage you to live the life you want to. Set goals – something you want to achieve or just do in your life that will make you happy. Find the power inside you that will drive you to reach these goals; follow your passions and dreams.

Even though it might seem unknown, your passions will lead you to your purpose. I has also no idea how travel and languages can support my lifestyle, but I followed anyways…

I wanted to travel and see as much of our world as possible. Also, I wanted to learn languages and communicate with other travelers and locals while traveling to connect better. I did everything possible to make it happen.

I sat down and studied languages or took a part-time job besides my Uni courses to save up for traveling later on. Believe me, I was broke so many times, but I still found a way and saved up again to be able to follow my passions.

Because that is something I truly love, it gives me that drive. So I encourage you to find what drives you, your special power, your passion, and follow it no matter what.

💡 It will lead you to live a life aligned with your purpose.

✅ Listen To Your Heart – Always 🙂

Lastly, I want to encourage you to listen to and follow your heart. There are many times when we are just confused about what to do. We don’t know how to go further. It is also because other people tell us their opinions on what we should do.

But I encourage you to sit in your room, in nature, whichever quiet place you want, and be alone. Calm down and analyze the options you have.

Sit quietly and listen to what your heart is telling you. Never think about what others will think about you if you make that or another decision. Only listen to your heart and then decide.

💡 Ultimately, we can only show up as the best versions of ourselves and serve the world if we alone are happy in our skin.

Stay Positive & Keep Going

No matter how difficult things might seem, believe that you’ll overcome them all.

Stay positive and remember that all the things that happen to us are for our good, for us to grow, not try to bring us down. So stand up and keep going!

You got this – there is always something beautiful coming your way if you don’t give up!

Take care and be brave! 🤗