Do I Want To Travel?
This can be a tough question… When I was younger it was certainly a dream of mine. Mostly because I didn’t really know what it meant. Exploring the unknown was always a wonder for me. This is probably why I enjoyed subjects that are discovery-based – space (astronomy) and dinosaurs (Palaeontology).
So to me, travelling was a dream. I mean when you see the pictures and videos online there’s no wonder so many people want to do it. White sandy beaches, clear blue waters, tropical rainforests, you name it! There’s so much to see and do- I believe that if you dedicated your life to travel, you still will miss out on some amazing things!
But we can’t do that as we have school, work, or family and relationships to consider. This makes things complicated beyond belief. There is so much more to consider as travelling isn’t an easy, straightforward decision. Even thinking about travelling will take hours of research and planning, not to mention the money worries that happen. Unless you are spontaneous and whimsical, then I mean you can just book a plane ticket tomorrow, and well… you can figure out the rest later. Some people can do that, but for the rest of us, we have a lot more to think about our current responsibilities.
It doesn’t matter what stage of life you are in; travelling is something you want to do or not. Whether you decide that you want to travel as a child (like me) or it’s a new thing you discover once you retire. We aren’t all the same- otherwise that would be boring. You must look into what you want to achieve in your life. What are your goals to achieve? What would give you fulfilment in life? I know full well that sitting in sales for the next 40 years and retiring on a small (or even large) amount of money won’t satisfy me.
And you might feel the same. Some people have the drive to live in the corporate world to earn and live well in a city or town, settle down, have kids, and live the somewhat traditional life our ancestors lived. There is nothing wrong with living life like this, as it suits a lot of people, and it may be your absolute dream. But we aren’t all like this. We don’t all want to wake up at a set time each day, go to the same place of work and complete the same or similar tasks day in and day out. See our family on weekends and wind down with a film on a chilled Sunday afternoon before kickstarting a heavily scheduled week tomorrow.
Plenty of us are privileged enough to have the opportunities that the Western world provides. Whether it’s free education, high-earning opportunities, good health care, and gratitude for the life we are given. Some don’t want to leave the comfortable life that is set up for us once we are born. I really don’t blame them as I am very grateful for everything I have. But I still want more…
Today there is such an opportunity to express yourself even in the way you work and live. You can travel with work or move to a totally different continent and way of life if that’s what you desire. And some people do this. Just search it online and there are thousands of people taking that step to move themselves or even their families to another corner of earth.
But what really makes you want to travel? For me, it’s always been a burning passion of mine since I stumbled upon the beauty that’s out there. For others like my partner, it’s been introduced through exposure to what is possible. Some people just need to see the opportunities that are available with travelling to find that passion. It can be like an addiction. It certainly is for me.
I never truly travelled until the last 12 months. My only taste of travelling was the brief holidays I had as a child or the countless short holiday with friends around Europe. The most adventurous family holiday would be to Egypt. Other than that, it was a sunny beach trip to Malta or Kos. Egypt for a 12/13-year-old was a wonder within itself. Who knew there was so much to see? It absolutely baffled me, and as I was taken by my dad, we stayed at a posh hotel and enjoyed some of the coolest activities I still have done!
During the two holidays we had in Egypt, we saw the pyramids- which within itself was purely amazing. The structure that still stands and the only ancient wonder of the world that still exists. It’s truly a sight to see. We also visited the Valley of the Kings, saw pharaoh’s tombs, stayed on the river Nile, snorkelled for the first time, and saw the infamous Tutankhamun mask. It was really an eye-opening experience for a teenager to experience. It was a totally new culture, a different way of life. It really made me appreciate what I had and how lucky I am.
Beyond the trips to Egypt, I would go on Lads holidays to party islands like Malia and Kavos. It wasn’t really my thing, but we had a good friend group and we made some of the best memories during those holidays. It was almost like being in the inbetweeners if you have seen it. As I am not a big drinker, it can become boring. I was more into the chill days by the pool with friends and booming music and having laughs than going to the clubs to get hammered. But it was an experience nonetheless and taught me a lot on the way.
We did do a city trip as a smaller group and visited Rome for the football and sights which was a totally different style of holiday we were used to at the time.
So all in all, I would say I was quite limited with holidays beyond the typical family trip abroad.
But travelling has always been on my bucket list. And since experiencing it recently I am now driven to try and experience all I can.
I believe that to discover whether travelling is for you, you need to ask yourself a series of questions.
Firstly, you must determine whether you are looking to travel for a short-term/temporary or for a long-term/permanent.
Some people look at travelling as a break from life, whether it’s a few weeks or even a few months. You can remove yourself from the stresses of your current life and experience a long-term break to help discover personal/individual goals before jumping back into the busy life you were in. Some people use it as a coping mechanism to hit an invisible reset button. Others just love to have holidays every so often to break up their lives.
A much smaller percentage of people want to commit long-term to travel – or as I describe it, having the travel bug. Being able to travel long-term is no easy feat. Take me for example who is currently writing this blog on a wet July morning. The opportunities to see just make it all worth it. But there are a lot of changes one must make to enter that style of living. It’s more of a full commitment; less so like a change of careers. For some people who take this path, they don’t have plans to return, others look to live a simpler life.
What do you want in life/What would make you happy?
What are you drawn towards? It’s no easy question to answer, but it’s a stepping stone to deciding whether this life is for you or not. It’s not something you have to answer straight away or even something you are certain about. It may come to you like an epiphany, who knows? But to make this decision, you need to hit a certain level of agreement to make this step.
No matter how you answered that last question, you can still look at the next question as a way of finding yourself.
If you could close your eyes and imagine yourself doing anything in the world right now, what would you choose?
This could be anything! Whether it’s your dream job of becoming a footballer, surgeon or running a charity to help children in Africa. There’s something inside of all of us that gives us a burning passion for something. You might not know it, but it’s there. It’s taken me many wrong turns and mistakes to even get close to finding out what this is and I’m ready to make more to figure it out.
I for one, imagine myself on a quiet sandy white beach, with a fresh coconut, reading a book or getting ready for a snorkelling/scuba diving trip. What comes to your mind? It doesn’t need to have anything to do with travelling at all!
This gives you a simple view of something you want to reach, some goal that you desire to reach.
Are you willing to make this a reality?
This is an important question to ask. A lot of people have dreams and personal aspirations they want to reach, but not everyone is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make this possible. To me, it comes down to what’s more important. what you need to sacrifice to achieve this or your need or want to make it happen.
You might have a high drive to become a traveller but are held back by the lack of drive or motivation to make it happen. This could be saving the amount you need for a travel package or prioritising a better lifestyle. Anyone looking to travel would need to look at making some life changes to make their dreams come true. For some, the sacrifice will be greater. It really comes down to how much you want to reach your dreams.
These fundamentals are here to challenge your current situation, and your future ambitions, to figure out how happy you are vs where you can be. I hope you can use these questions to understand more about yourself. Travelling is something that I would recommend to all to learn about the world and most importantly, themselves.
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog post. I hope that you were able to learn more about your desire to travel and the fundamental considerations to think about.
For those who make the decision to travel, you will not regret it. And for those who don’t, I hope you find happiness in what you are doing. It’s not built for everyone, but for me and Aimee, it is.
This is Jack’s past experiences and perspectives regarding travel, as part of Ourtwostepstart. For more travel content, check out our content on Instagram and YouTube, which you can find on this website!
Our Two Step Start 
Leave a comment