Going out and traveling, whether on your own or with a friend or family member, is a pretty scary thing. However, despite how much it takes out of you as a traveler, that often doesn't deter those closest to you from questioning every single little thing that happens when you're away.
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In some circles, they'll even go out of their way to try and prove that what you're saying isn't true. So today, we're going to attempt to open the eyes of all you doubters out there to the many possibilities that come with exploring the big wide world around us.
10 You Reinvent Yourself
We aren’t saying that you completely change your personality when you’re heading on your travels, but what we are saying is that there are aspects of your life that you want to alter or change ever so slightly, traveling allows you to do that – regardless of where you’re going.
Of course, if you return to your roots and you act in the same manner that you did before you left, there’s nothing wrong with that. Alas, that isn’t going to stop your friends and family from questioning it all along the way.
9 You Overthink Everything
Being spontaneous is a big part of traveling but that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone qualifies for that. To go alongside being a spontaneous person, there also comes a sense of overthinking things.
Whether it be deciding where to go next or just wondering whether or not you’ve made the right decision, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Television shows and movies probably paint it out to be just that, but that is often false. You need to experience this way of thinking in order to really believe it for yourself.
8 Your Social Position Changes
Back home you may be known as the funny guy, the geek the one everyone takes for granted, or something else. Then, when you go abroad, your social stance or position within any given group or scenario can get flipped in the blink of an eye.
This all sounds pretty exciting, but again, very outside of the box in the eyes of your social group. The reasoning behind it can be many different things, and sometimes, you won’t even feel the need to explain yourself – and that’s a good mentality.
7 You Experience Disappointment
You’ve waited your entire life to go to the Christ the Redeemer or perhaps even the Eiffel Tower. Then, when you get there, it just doesn’t seem to live up to expectations in the same way that you had pictured in your own head. It’s a natural occurrence, by all accounts.
But it’s not like you can admit that. As and when you do there’s a good chance you’ll be questioned or ridiculed, as if to suggest everything has to live up to the hype without fail or you’re stuffed.
6 You Get Fatigued
People seem to have this idea in their head that a lot of travelers possess a never-ending gas tank, but that’s just plain wrong. We’ve all been in a situation whereby we’ve just taken on a bit too much, and we aren’t going to think less of you because of that.
It isn’t admitting defeat and it isn’t a weakness, because trust us, the people who do it on documentaries and in movies get tired all the time and need to take subsequent breaks in order to remedy the situation.
5 You Meet Bizarre People
From Joe the daredevil to Alexa the accountant turned party girl in Ayia Napa, you just never know who you’re going to run into. In a similar manner to the people that Lily describes on How I Met Your Mother from her trip to San Francisco, however, they aren’t always completely factual.
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We can understand why it seems a bit out there that you might befriend or otherwise just have a run-in with new and interesting people, but that’s what happens when you’re away from home. You test the waters.
4 You Become The Talk Of The Town
“Hey, did you hear about that American that got drunk and jumped off the cliff into the lake, doing three backflips in the process?” Okay, we’re exaggerating, but you kind of get the picture.
Whether you’re in a small resort or a big city, you are different and you are an outsider more often than not. As a result, there’s a very good chance you’re going to stand out in some way, shape or form, and you may even become a bit of an urban legend in the process. Embrace it.
3 You Gain Street Smarts
At home, you may be someone that likes what they like and doesn’t enjoy straying away from that all too much. Abroad, though, you might be the kind of guy or girl who is willing to go up to people they don’t know, figures out the haves and have nots, and is well aware of the risks that come with the city life (or resort life, depending on your preference).
We aren’t saying you’re going to turn into the next Vin Diesel in Fast & Furious or anything crazy like that, but you give yourself a chance at getting out of your comfort zone and into something new. A lot of that comes with the pressure of being away, which those close to you may not understand.
2 You Get Homesick
Once and for all let us just say this to be a fact: it’s okay to get homesick and it is okay to feel emotional, think about your family and friends, and all of that good stuff. However, if you’re posting amazing pictures on social media, then the very people you claim to miss may not know the difference.
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That’s one of the interesting things about sites like Facebook and Twitter: they paint a picture of a life that isn’t entirely accurate, and may never have been in the first place. It’s weird.
1 You Adapt Fast
Let’s say you’re heading to Berlin for a week, and when you get there, nothing makes sense to you. Everything is a bit too out there and you just can’t wrap your head around it. Then, all of a sudden, one day you wake up and it all clicks – and it happens much sooner than you might have anticipated.
You know which train to catch, you know the kind of street food that you’re going to enjoy, and best of all, you start to learn a bit of the local language. Perhaps not being fluent in it is what puts your ‘listeners’ off a bit.