Traveling is something many people dream of, but not all get the chance to pursue. Fortunately, I have been blessed with getting the opportunity to travel to many places. I always think going somewhere new will help cure my travel bug, but in reality it makes me want to explore the world even more. Pursuing a life of travel, however, is not always always an easy decision to make. I am not talking about the kind of travel where you go on vacation for a week or two and then go back home. I am talking about the kind of travel where you are gone for months at a time. This could mean studying abroad, teaching English in a foreign country, or backpacking. Many people think that if they got the opportunity to travel for extended periods of time then they would take it, but there are actually many difficulties that come along with wanting to pursue a life of traveling. Here are a few that I have encountered:
- Leaving behind family and friends– This is one of the hardest things to deal with when it comes to traveling. Deciding to leave your home for a long period of time means that you have to deal with the reality that life will continue when you are gone. There will be major events that you will not be able to be apart of, and you won’t be able to spend some holidays with your family. One of my biggest fears is that someone in my family, or one of my pets, will pass away and I wouldn’t have been able to spend the last moments of their life with them. I know that sounds kind of extreme, but you really never know what can happen. I am so thankful for technology because even though I can be thousands of miles away from the people I love the most, I am still able to talk to them as if they are right in front of me.
- Watching your peers settle down– There are so many people that I grew up with or went to high school with that are having babies or getting married/engaged. My 15 year old self would have thought that by now at my age I would have been settled in a career and hopefully in a long term relationship. I mentioned in a previous blog post that this idea seems crazy to me now and I am happy with the way things have turned out. However, I can’t help but compare myself to the people around me. My best friend is married with a kid and another one on the way. Even my little brother is on his way to a great career. I definitely want that in my life and seeing them have it makes me want it now. When you are passionate about traveling it kind of postpones all those things. It is hard to travel long term when you have a family or a career. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is the time to pursue my passion. It may be too late if I wait and I don’t want to regret not doing what really makes me happy. Its not like I am choosing the wrong path, I am just choosing the path that will make me the happiest. I believe that is what everyone should do with their life.
- Being an introvert– Traveling solo can cause an introvert a lot of anxiety because they don’t have anyone to be their crutch. As an introvert I get very nervous when I have to do something on my own. I have always dreaded making phone calls or interacting with strangers and have always relied on the person with me to do all the talking. Whenever I make travel plans I usually ask around to see who can join me, but you can’t always expect your friends to drop what they are doing so they can tag along with you. Like I mentioned in the previous point, they have their own life goals they are pursuing. When you travel by yourself you don’t have someone to do all the hard work for you, so you have to learn to step away from those introvert habits in order to truly experience the joys of traveling.
There are many more difficulties that come along with traveling, but these three seem to be the most difficult for me. Sometimes these difficulties make me want to stop traveling. I feel like I want to retreat back to my introvert bubble where my family and friends are and settle down. I just need to remind myself that this is what I am passionate about and obstacles shouldn’t stop me from doing what I love. Instead, I need to choose to face them and learn from them. Traveling has taught me many things like learning to cherish the time I have with my loved ones when I am home. Even though they may drive me crazy sometimes, they usually tend to be the biggest part that I am missing when I am gone. I have also learned that success isn’t dependent on what everyone else is doing. As long as you are happy and pursuing/accomplishing your goals then that should be considered a success. Finally, traveling has taught me to step out of my comfort zone. I have learned that I can’t always rely on people to do what is hard for me. Whenever I step out and challenge myself with something I never thought I would do I am filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment. There will always be obstacles that we come across while traveling, but facing those obstacles rather than avoiding them is what truly makes us wiser and happier.
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