It seems as a society these days we all need a reason for doing something. A reason to get up in the morning, a reason to go to work, a reason to put on actual clothing and leave the house.
I've noticed that many people ask me my reason in travelling. As much as seeing the world has become more common-place in recent times, there are still people who are unsure. Why would you leave the comfort of your surroundings? What made you come out all this way? I even had one person telling me my reason must've been because of a man, that's the only logical reason that anybody would move thousands of miles away and leave everything behind. In some aspects they were right I guess, but not in the way they had expected.
I decided on this after plenty of contemplation, and nudgings from my dear parents and older sister (she already lives in Australia and has seen a fair chunk of the world over the past 10 plus years) It took me a good year to decide that yes I was definitely doing this. It then took me a further six months to 'definitely do this'. I had to weigh up the pros and cons to going and staying. I then had to realise that the pros to leaving were far greater than the pros to staying. I knew I had the support of all my family and friends to get on and do this, so that really wasn't an issue. Even though it still continued to be even months after I began my journey. I've since come to terms with the fact that homesickness happens. It's natural. Going from seeing your loved ones everyday to barely making contact with them once a month can take its toll, but as soon as you realise nothing really changes, that's when the fun begins.
It was Teddy who gave me the final push. After months of saying I was going to Australia and then not doing so, One day, Teddy tells me he thinks I'll never go. He'd gotten fed up of my 'all talk no action' stance. I don't know if he knew that by challenging me, or at least telling me I wouldn't go, would be the way to make me go. But with that sentence I knew I had to prove him wrong.
So already you can see a few of my reasons.
- The desire to prove somebody wrong
- Getting away and starting afresh, leaving certain memories and distance between something best left alone
- Parental/Sibling Pressure
So there you go,I left the country with those reasons on my mind. Maybe a little bit feeble, but it got me on a plane. At the time that was good enough. Still when I arrived there were things holding me back. I hadn't relaxed into the lifestyle because part of me was still too involved in the lifestyle I had left behind. It took me a long while to feel like I wasn't missing out on what my friends were doing. I left just before summer was really beginning in the UK. That's the time I was most fond of, BBQ's, Suntrap beer gardens, public holidays and smiley faces. It took me about nine months before I was letting go of all that. I began checking Facebook and seeing that those BBQs and beach days were also the highlight of most of my friends lives. Which is great, I'm glad it makes them happy. But I had just opened my eyes and looked at the bigger picture. One that included Dingoes roaming wild and Koala bears chilling in the tree not more than 12 meters above me. I woke up. I wasn't going to see things like that if I was at home. My reasons broadened.I began wanting to travel because I wanted to, not because people had told me it would be good for me. I have to started to believe that it is good for me. I'm looking out right now at the beach watching people enjoying a free playground with surfboards and waves.
Every time I talk to somebody new, my travel list gets longer. I'm now at a stage where I know I'm not ready for this journey to stop. I don't just want to look out at the waves of Victoria, Western Australia or Queensland. I want to check them out in California, Bali, New Zealand. And I want to experience the powdery snow tracks in Colarado, Switzerland and Japan.
The more time I spend travelling the more reasons I get to continue. I see why when you travel you become a different person. Why you never want it to stop. Why it gets frustrating when you hit a point where you're unable to move on to the next destination. The truth is, you're never missing out on anything when you travel, in fact it's quite the opposite. Its when you stay at home, day dreaming about travelling that you miss out.
Reasons to Travel;
- Making a dream a reality
- Becoming rich in experience
- Meeting people from different walks of life
- Changes in opinions and outlooks
- Expanding your goals and dreams
- Understanding ways of life in all different forms
- Understanding yourself
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