Have you ever thought to yourself “gee, it sure is swell living in the comfort of my own home, knowing my surroundings and feeling comfortable with the climate in the country I live in”? Then followed that thought with “but wouldn’t it be great to enter a foreign country for the first time with limited prior knowledge and just see what happens”? Yup. Sounds like a Fear of Travelling. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Why Do I Have a Fear of Travelling?
For some reason, millions of people every year choose to uproot their lives in search of greener pastures. Or whiter pastures in the case of those in search of snow. This obsession with travelling is an expensive one that begins with plane tickets and ends with panhandlers on the beach selling only the finest of knock-off brand quality products. It’s a lifestyle.
When you arrive at your destination, you are greeted with an immediate feeling of calm and serene euphoria as you settle into your relaxing time away from the stress of work. Away from the noise of the city and the pressures of each minute in a day. That feeling is often replaced by sheer panic because you remembered you left the stove on at home. Or you found out the airport has somehow lost your luggage despite being secured in a room 35,000 feet in the air. But for that fleeting moment, things are great!
Ignoring the obvious in food poisoning, getting lost while struggling with local transportation, and/or having your kidneys stolen and sold on the black market, you run the risk of getting a sunburn. There isn’t enough SPF in the world to prevent you from turning into a lobster. This is often followed by shedding your skin like a snake. The sun is also just really bright in general. So that’s a tough one to deal with too.
A lot of people spend most of their vacation staring at life through a camera lens. Usually, the volume of pictures increases as the remaining vacation days wind down. This is a last-ditch effort to delay the return to your real, non-all-inclusive life back at home. So you don’t want to forget the experience. You want to hold onto those memories with as much ferocity as when you grip the armrest of the plane during its most turbulent moments. Those pictures never turn out well. The lighting is all wrong. Staring at your own face makes you uncomfortable. The thumb of the person who you asked to take the photo is blocking half the shot. Or you ran out of camera film because you are stuck in the 1990s. Treasured memories indeed.
How To Pack Away Your Fear of Travelling
There are still those out there who not only enjoy travelling but take advantage of every moment of free time to spend it exploring the world. The world can be a beautiful place. There is so much to do, so much to see, and so much to experience. If you prefer to live your life through the experiences of others, I highly encourage you to check out this blog that is hyperlinked in this unnecessarily long sentence. It’s pretty amazing to see what the world looks like from the comfort and safety of the internet. But feel free to get out there and explore for yourself too!
