I’ve always been an adventurous soul. As someone who grew up in one of the nation’s most diverse cities, I still always longed to see more. The thrill of another culture, another world is intoxicating. Not being able to understand anyone around me was never something particularly frightening – if anything, it was a challenge. Finding comfort in this loneliness has always stayed near my heart.
It starts with the city of Paris, where I first visited when I was fifteen years old. My dad was taking us on a trip we were not likely to forget – I distinctly remember turning to him and saying, “dad, just so you know, I’m going to live here.” And I did. For some reason I have never been able to figure out an exact answer as to why Paris drew me the way it did, but I knew it had to do with baggage, both emotional and mental. The baggage that I would bring with me, as well as what I would leave behind. The concept of luggage is something I had never given so much thought to before. At the age of 19, I was packing up my life to live in Paris, if only for the year.
This formative time was when I came across the Away suitcase. What intrigued me about Away was not just the suitcase, but all that they promised: comfort, durability, and – most important of all, obviously – a built-in phone charger. It was the carry-on of my dreams. All my life I had been turned back for over-stuffing my baggage, shamed for the excess I couldn’t leave behind, and I was sure this would only happen again on my journey to France, time and time again. I knew I had to do something, and Away just so happened to have the perfect answer. When this luggage arrived at my home, I knew we were set to have some pretty crazy experiences together.
Away suitcases have traveled through all terrains to follow the adventure everywhere.Instagram @away photo by @mrskmarino
The concept of Away is a thoughtful design and a guarantee for life. Their mission statement reads, “We live in an age of access. Anyone can go everywhere. The world is a shared place, and every trip is part of the exchange, no matter the destination. We believe in making connections: on the road, online, and in person. We value access over aspiration, and exploration over escape. For us, all time away is time well spent. Getting Away means getting more out of every trip to come. That’s the idea, and the mission, behind everything we do.” It’s not just a suitcase, but the perfect travel companion. Your emotional baggage is bound to come along with you, but you can make your physical baggage work for you. Away says, “Because if you’re looking down at your dying phone and broken bag, you can’t see up, out, and ahead to the world in front of you.”
Packing for what was undeniably one of the biggest changes of my life was made all the more easier with Away, and for that, I’ll always be grateful. I was able to fit my toiletries, quite a few different outfits, and knick knacks from home to comfort me whenever I felt homesick. It was then that I knew that what you take with you matters. You can’t change the fact that your baggage will tag along, but you can change how much you make that bag weigh on yourself. With the Away suitcase, I was able to have the travel experience that I longed for in some instinctual way – easy, familiar, and like I had made the right decision.
