What Does Traveling Mean to You?

This is my lesson about the right way to travel.

Photo by MohammadHosein Mohebbi on Unsplash

Travel is a term that holds true to so many different definitions. That is because there is no right or wrong answer. Everyone sees travel how they want to.

This was something that was hard for me to understand. Especially as I started my digital-nomadding career.

It was hard for me to understand why some of my family and friends back home didn’t crave the same experiences.

I proved to them that it was, in fact, affordable. I proved to them that you could remain safe in almost any situation by being smart. I even proved to them that it was not as lonely as it might seem to solo travel.

All these were concerns that they had for me before I left.

I thought if I shared my experiences, they would all hop on the same train out of town.

To my greatest dismay, this was not the case. In fact, many of them hardly even changed their stance. They still believed it was too expensive. Too dangerous. Too lonely.

But, then, I realized during my semester abroad that not even other travelers have the same thoughts about travel as I do.

Everyone uses travel for different reasons.

For some, it’s to relax for a week like the people back home. That’s all they want from their experience. For some, it’s to escape to some luxurious lifestyle. For some, it’s to see the most famed sights and attractions that we see in movies and on Instagram.

And then there is us. Or, at least me. I use travel as life itself.

When I go places, I want to get lost. I want to immerse myself so far into the culture I’m experiencing that I lose a part of myself. I want to return home (eventually) un-whole. I want parts of my life left behind in the countries and cities that make an impact on me.

I want to feel like I have a home in every part of this world. I want to have life-long friends from every continent (taking applications, Antarctica). I want to use every second I am granted on this Earth to avoid a routine life.

I travel because it is how I want to spend my life.

But traveling has so many different meanings, so I am interested, what is the meaning of travel to you? Leave a comment, let’s start a good conversation!