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Tom from England survived cancer – now he travels the world without a plan

Tom Newitt, 30, from England survived cancer. He sold everything and left. Now he lives everyday as it was his last and travels the world without a plan but with a tattoo saying: ’That which does not kill us makes us stronger’. He never wants to live in the UK again. ”Traveling is the best thing I’ve ever done. You get to write your own story, don’t let other people write it for you”, he says.

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Tom in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Photo by: Patrik Enlund

As a teenager Tom Newitt had a cancerous tumour. He was on the verge of death but survived. Today he’s travelling the world and is happier than ever.

”The best decision I ever made was to leave home because it opens your eyes and broadens your horizon so much, it changes your outlook on life. There are so many opportunities out there. But if you don’t leave home you’re never going to see them or even know about them”, Tom says.

I talk Tom in a hostel in China Town, Kuala Lumpur. He has an impressive beard and a chilled persona. We sit down in the cozy tv-corner on some soft pillows. He tells me about how he has traveled 38 000 kilometers around Australia in a four wheel drive, been driving all over Vietnam on a motorbike and that he’s traveling the world without a plan. He is certainly making the best of every second of his life. He has no intention of going back home to England permanently. When talking to Tom I’m curious what made him take that decision and a very interesting life story comes out. A story of a cancerous tumour and a dream of something else.

What traveling is all about – meet new friends and have a good time.

Life on a boat. What traveling is all about – meet new friends and have a good time.

Grew up in Poole/Bournemouth

He grew up like any boy in Poole/Bournemouth, loved his sports such as football, rugby and a lot of contact sports. Tom pretty much played everything you can imagine. But one day everything changed. After a lot of pain the doctors found a cancerous tumour in Tom’s intestines.
”I had two operations and six months of chemotherapy in Southampton General Hospital”, Tom says.

The whole thing was very complicated and the doctors needed two operations to fix it because the first operation didn’t go as planned.

I ask Tom if this was really life threatening at the time.
”Well if it was left any longer before operating, my intestine would have ruptured and that would probably have been game over”, he says. ”It wasn’t ideal”.

I nod and think of when Tom says that we have to live everyday as it was our last he really knows what he’s talking about.

Enjoying the view.

Enjoying the view.

He continues to tell me his story.

After the chemotherapy he was fine. The tumor and his pain were now gone. But he had already had to learn how to walk again due to his leg muscles wasting away and couldn’t continue with all of his sports.
”I was skin and bones for quite a while, really skinny and had no strength in my legs to hold my bodyweight. I was bed ridden for 2-3 months at the start of my stay in hospital. I literally lived there”, he says.

Despite what happened it wasn’t until much later in his life Tom would have the awakening about what he wanted to do with his life. He was still aiming for a career, money, house and family at this point. He went to university for three years studied geology and got a degree. Later on he got a job at a bank.

Driving in Australia is fun – and interesting.

Driving in Australia is fun – and interesting.

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Tom had enough of working

One day while working at the bank Tom had enough. Tired of doing a lot of other people’s work he confronted his boss about advancing up in the company.
”I asked if this was going to happen and my boss basically said no. So I told him I resign, literally mid conversation and he was like ”what” and I said to him I’m quitting right now”.

”My boss said he needed my resignation in writing so I said to him to give me a second and turned around and smashed down a two sentence resignation email and hit enter, walked back to him and asked if he had got my resignation email. He opened up his computer and his face drops. Five weeks later I was in Australia”, Tom says.

”If you don’t like your boss or your job you can just move. Why do something you don’t enjoy. Thats basically my principal. I did it for years and now think why the hell did I do that. I wasn’t enjoying life as much as possible but I thought I needed to do it. You don’t. You don’t have to do anything in life. You can do whatever you want (within reason)”, Tom says.

Exploring caves.

Exploring caves.

Sold everything and left

He packed his things, sold the rest, said good bye to England and left. As simple as that.
”When I left I literally sold everything I owned, I sold my bike, my car, my boat. Everything I could sell I sold. I barely have anything in the UK anymore. I said to all my family and friends I’m going to Australia and I’m probably not coming back. See you later.”

He was 27 years old when he entered Australia and his life would change forever. ”I have never been happier than I have been the last two and a half years. I have had an amazing time and I have met some unbelievable people and been to some stunning locations and different places I would never have dreamed of going to up until the point that I left. There are still so many places out there that I want to go and see now. So why stop, just keep going and keep enjoying life.

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Snorkeling with a Mantaray.

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What do you say to people that want do to all this but think they are stuck?

”A lot of people say they can’t do it because of financial reasons, if you really are that bothered about it and you really want to do something, stop going to the pub once a week, stop having drinks, cut down your spending on food, stop buying those little things you don’t need and the money adds up really quickly. You just got to be sensible about it. Things might be a bit rubbish and hard for the next six months a year but in your head you know you are doing this for something that you really want to do. Work hard, maybe get an extra job, stop spending the money on stupid things. Knowing that in the end of it you’re going to have one of the best experiences of your life”.

Camping life in Tasmania.

Camping life in Tasmania.

Tom has been thinking a lot about this and has tons of things to say: ”Why not enjoy life and do whatever you want to do when you get the opportunity to do it because today could be your last day. Like no one knows whats around the corner and if you were to die tomorrow and you haven’t done half of the things you had in your head that you wanted to do for years it would be rubbish right?”, Tom says.

He says to me that everyone should follow their dream when they’re young and have the dream. Not wait until they retire. ”When you are at that age you might not be able to do the stuff you wanted to when you were younger. You might not have the physical fitness to be able to do Mount Everest base camp for example, skydiving, bungy jumping or whatever it might be. You might not even be allowed to do it. So live everyday as it was your last and enjoy yourself”, Tom says.

Why do you think so many people are stuck in a life they don’t want to live?
”It’s the stereotype, it’s what society expects of you. And a lot of people think, I’ve got to do this because my parents have done this and everybody else is doing it. It’s just the norm. They just don’t think outside the box. They are sheltered or whatever it might be and they think this is how you have to live. That’s simply not the case, you should live your own life and do what you want to do.”


Did you like this story? Read about Sanne who lived a stressful life and fainted behind the wheel. She decided to leave everything behind and move to the Philippines. Click here for full story >>

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