The Culture of Experience: Why Travel, Food & Events Are Self-Education

We live in an era where documenting the experience often outweighs having it. Travel has become a trophy. Food is now aesthetic currency. Events are just the backdrop for a fit check. Somehow in the middle of all that noise, the meaning of these moments is getting lost.

But hear me out: Your life experiences are your real education.

Where you go, what you eat, who you meet, & how you move, all of it builds your identity in ways a classroom or course never could.

Before you book that trip, ask yourself:

What do I want to feel on this trip?

What do I want to learn?

Who do I want to become on the other side of this experience?

Intentionality changes the energy. It doesn’t mean you can’t relax. It means you’re not outsourcing your presence to your camera roll.

Mini Challenge: Before your next experience, set two intentions: one internal (what you want to shift within yourself) and one external (something you want to observe or try).

Your palate is part of your passport. Food is one of the most intimate ways to understand a culture, and yourself.

Try things that scare you a little. Eat without checking Yelp. Ask the server what their favorite dish is. Go to the spot with the handwritten menu. Every bite teaches you something about trust, comfort, and curiosity.

Another Mini Challenge: For your next trip (or even night out), seek one meal that pushes your taste boundaries. After, reflect on what it taught you, not just how it tasted.

Not every night out needs to be a rager. Not every event needs to be a post.

Some events change you because of who you met. What you overheard. How a piece of art made you feel. What a stranger told you in line.

Choose events that pour into you. Spaces that feel intentional. Rooms where your curiosity expands.

Last Mini Challenge: This season, commit to attending at least two events that make you grow (a gallery, a workshop, a panel, a salon-style dinner).

What you do after matters.

Make it a habit to archive the feeling, not just the photo. Journal a sentence. Save a voice note. Keep a playlist or scent that reminds you of that place or moment.

I lied before, this is actually the last Mini Challenge: Start a "memory bank" note on your phone. After every major experience, drop in one lesson, one feeling, and one thing you want to carry forward.

We’re not collecting memories for clout. We’re collecting them for construction. Experiences build us.

Live intentionally. Flex less. Absorb more.

Written by Ajani Brathewaite