How can you 'discover yourself'?

We've all heard those cringe phrases like 'follow your passion' or 'discover your inner self', etc. What I don't like about them is that they are very general and vague. How do I find my passion? What is an 'inner self'? What does it all mean? Well, I think that's part of the discovery actually.

This year has been pretty rough for me, between exams, university, a job and living alone, I would say I've experienced a whole new range of emotions. So I would love to go an a path of 'self-discovery', to maybe exit the world for a while and look at it from another perspective. How could I do this? I can't really afford to go away to another country or even a city for a week in hotel, and I'm not even sure that would help. What is something that could help me with self-reflection and understand a bit who I really am and how I have developed in the past 2 years?

A pilgrimage.

It sounds crazy, right? I'm not religious at all and definitely not looking to be, but I know it's a great experience. My friend came back from the Camino de Santiago de Compostela not long ago and he told me it was amazing. This pilgrimage means walking around 20 km a day, sleeping in hostels and meeting tons of people. It's not too expensive and I believe it is a great way to self-reflect. You walk through fields, towns and cities with beautiful sceneries and landscapes. You meet other pilgrims and you meet locals, and many of these people will be in the same boat as you: looking to understand oneself.

In fact, I did 5 days of this pilgrimage already when I was around 14. I did it with my mum and my brother, and I remember a great experience. I am now 17, and I wish to do it alone and for more days.

If you have a pilgrimage near you, I absolutely recommend trying one out, you have absolutely nothing to lose (except the money on hostels and food). If not, try your own kind of hike. But a pilgrimage is a great way to get out of the daily routine, to look a bit around and to really get to know yourself.