Travelling isn't exactly something that comes easy to everyone, and that's an important theme to remember throughout the course of this piece. While you may have been abroad or gone up and down the country hundreds of times that doesn't necessarily mean the same thing applies for everyone, especially for those of you out there who are a little bit afraid of some of the aspects involved with the entire process.
We can't say that we blame for you that, either, because whether it's getting on a plane or sailing away on a boat, there are a lot of factors that can be pretty unnerving. Maybe if you're a tenured veteran then this is the kind of article that'll make you cringe, but when you really think about it, the majority of these entries will have happened to you at some point throughout your lifetime.
There's an argument to be made that a lot of it is based on your own personal mental health and how you decide to view the world, and that's okay. Just because you may feel a certain way or experience a certain sensation, it just means that you're human, and while it may be sounding like you're in a therapy session of some kind, it's true.
We're here today to run down some of the things that we try our best to ignore regardless of whether or not we're in the air, on water or we're just in the final stages of actually preparing for the trip.
25 Ears Popping - Ouch!
Now this is something that tends to happen more so on planes than anywhere else, but either way, we're pretty confident in saying that this is a process that will never feel normal.
The first time your ears pop, when you're old enough to understand what's actually happening, it can be quite off-putting because it simply doesn't feel natural. In reality, though, it's a pretty common practice, and it's when it doesn't happen that you should probably start to wonder what's going on. That sounds a bit odd, but trust us, we've all been there and we've all thought it.
24 Plane Fear - It’s Only Natural
Even if you've been flying throughout the course of your lifetime, there's always a small part of you that will experience a little bit of fear once you actually get on the plane.
It's completely natural because, let's face it, being taken thousands of metres into the sky isn't something that happens every day for 95% of us.
That split second moment of feeling some turbulence can open up a sea of different possibilities, and it's probably in your best interests to ignore those sensations. Sure, it can be tempting to indulge every now and again and allow yourself to go down that road, but it's dangerous.
23 Sea Sickness - Man Overboard
Being on the water seems to feel much more natural to a lot of folks than being in the air, and that isn't something that we can really get behind.
When you're in the middle of the ocean and you can see literally nothing but water around you, that's one of the most unsettling feelings you could ever have.
You just never know what could be around the next corner, and because the sea is so unpredictable, it can be easy to experience sea sickness. You'll try everything within your power to avoid it, but most of the time, you just have to go through the motions until it's over.
22 Fatigue - Keep It Together
Every single human being on the face of the planet gets tired, and that's okay. We often feel fatigued when we've been working our bodies too hard, and that's not an exaggeration.
So then, it makes sense that travelling would put a toll on us to the point where we don't feel 100% like we usually do. That's often one of the reasons why regular travellers talk about how much they hate leaving home every single day, whether it be for work or leisure.
There are several ways in which you can combat this, as we'll allude to during a later entry.
21 Overthinking - Keep It Casual and try to detach
We've all been there, and this links back to what we spoke about in the introduction: your mental health is vitally important and that has always been the case, and overthinking can serve as a direct result of you thinking too much about certain situations.
It links back to several entries in this piece, to be honest, but that's the nature of travelling for you.
Did you leave the oven on? Are the dogs okay? Did I pack my suncream? What was the Red Sox score last night?
It's exhausting, but it's something we all must deal with at one point or another.
20 Dehydration - A Natural Thing
It's actually been well noted, by MSN.com most recently, that flying can actually cause you to be pretty dehydrated.
The science behind it is fairly complex but the bottom line is this: you need to be bringing a substantial amount of water with you on every single trip, because if you don't, then you could find yourself struggling by the time that you land.
It won't exactly be so extreme that you're unable to function, and you may not even actually realise it's happening, but if you look close enough then you'll be able to notice the difference between when you're in the air and before you took off.
19 Leg Aches - Stretch Them Out
If you sit down for a long period of time then your legs are going to start to ache. That's quite literally a scientific fact, and the same thing can apply to standing up. Doesn't being alive sound so exhausting when you put it like that?
Anyway, if you aren't the kind of person who likes to get up and walk around the plane, then it can be pretty difficult to stretch out your legs - especially if you're in economy. So then, the standard thing to do for most people is avoid the whole situation altogether, or, alternatively, they try and resolve the issue themselves while still being sat down.
To be honest, though, ignoring it and trying to have a quick nap (depending on the mode of transport) is the way to go.
18 Homesick - Hey, Mom
You could be gone for a year or just a few hours - but either way, the risk of getting homesick is an ever present threat.
We all enjoy the little home comforts that make us feel comfortable, safe or even just satisfied, and it's important to remember this is a really natural thing to experience.
This can be resolved with a simple phone call home or by taking part in a different activity like reading a book or watching a movie, and that's what most folks tend to do instead of dwelling on it. After all, you don't want to end up looking as sad as this dog.
17 Odd Sleep Patterns - It’s 2am!
Are you having problems sleeping because of jet lag or purely because you can't get out of your own head? Welcome to the club.
Sometimes mixing up your sleep patterns can be a fun thing to try out, if only to see just how much of a difference it makes from your everyday life, but you won't find all too many people who will agree with that assessment.
We all need at least six to eight hours in order to function properly and that's just a fact, but sometimes, different sleeping patterns doesn't necessarily guarantee that you aren't going to get that allotted amount of time.
Maybe you'll sleep during the day instead, but either way, just try and focus on the purpose of your travel instead of the sleep side of things.
16 Neck Aches - Travel Pillow Required
If you don't have a travel pillow and you're heading onto a train or plane that is going to cause you some serious discomfort, then you could be in trouble.
Not everyone will fall asleep in a manner that will leave them feeling slightly 'crooked' upon waking up, but the majority of us know what it feels like to endure this kind of pain.
Ignoring it isn't exactly a smart thing to do but it's definitely the route many of us go down, if only to try and gut it out until we don't have to deal with it anymore.
That, in a nutshell, sums up the mentality of travellers (especially frequent ones), and we love it.
15 Security Worry - Completely Understandable
You could've taken your laptop out of your bag, turned your phone off, taken your hoodie off, removed your belt and put your liquids into a secure bag, and you'd still be left panicking when you walk through airport security.
The reason for that tends to be the machine that buzzes every so often, leading you to believe that you've forgotten about something that was stored away in your luggage. You probably haven't, but of course, you'll still be made to sweat it out for a few minutes before being given the chance to go and enjoy some shopping prior to your flight.
14 People Watching Habit - Where Are They Going?
We aren't entirely sure why this is so fascinating to us, but hey, that's life.
People watching can be an incredibly odd thing to do especially if you're caught doing so by the folks that you're actually looking at. Most of the time we can't help it, because most of the time, we're just trying to do something to keep us occupied.
Ignoring the urge to do this is a fairly common practice, and it's not hard to understand why based on the information we've provided.
Sure, you're intrigued to see where the couple in front of you are going on holiday, but is that really enough of a reason to risk an extended period of awkwardness?
13 Time Management Issues - Tricky To Manage
Time management is a tough thing to master even at the best of times, but when you're travelling, it can be thrown out of the window altogether - and sometimes, that's okay.
It's an extra stress that we all often have to deal with, especially if you've got a specific appointment scheduled for when you arrive at your final destination. It's so unbelievably easy to get carried away with an activity that will seem pretty meaningless when you look back on it, but hey, it's human nature, and sometimes you just can't help it.
P.S: we are LIVING for this guy's orange watch, and we want it.
12 Carousel Panic - Where Is It?
The baggage carousel is one of the most nauseating procedures you can go through when travelling, and it's one of the many reasons why we try our best to only take hand luggage - especially on trips that are only a few days long.
When you're stood there waiting for your bag to appear there always tends to be one thought that pops into your head above all others: wait, have they actually lost my baggage?
Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, the answer is no, but it's the wait that'll frustrate you, especially if you've got lots of valuables in there.
11 Memory Lane Trip - Remember That Time?
It doesn't matter whether it's a 30 minute drive down the road or a 12 hour flight to the other side of the planet, because it's completely natural to allow yourself to take a trip down memory lane. It's just a part of life, because the slightest thing can often trigger memories that we didn't even know we had.
It can be a little bit distracting which is always risky, but most of the time it can be really refreshing as you think back to a time where you weren't having to get up and travel in order to get somewhere important.
10 Airport Investigation - Being Snobby
Whether you do it on purpose or subconsciously, it's a habit for all of us to compare and contrast - especially when it comes to airports.
There are some airports that try really hard to make a good impression, whereas other places are so lazy that you're left to wonder why they even bothered in the first place.
It can make you seem a bit snobbish, but let's face it, a lot of airports are quite cold and don't have that 'homely' feel, so it's worth scouting out which destinations you prefer above all others.
Don't knock it until you've tried it.
9 Food Standards Decrease - Anything Will Do
We're going to go ahead and sound like real snobs now, but come on, airport food just isn't great when you really think about it.
The main problem is that people build up the idea of how bad it is so much, that when you eventually get to eat it, your expectations are incredibly low. As a result you may hype it up to be the best meal in the world, but in reality, you wouldn't even look at it on a menu if you were back home.
Sure, it's nice when food and drink is included in the price of your plane or boat ticket, but that doesn't mean it's always going to be edible.
8 Packing Dilemmas - What Shall I Take?
Isn't packing the worst?
Over the years you'd think that we, as humans, would have perfected the process, and yet all of the same stereotypes seem to arise day in and day out.
Whether you're trying desperately to make more room for an item of clothing or you just don't know what you want to bring, packing can often be dragged out until mere hours before you have to leave.
This is an accurate line of thinking for pretty much every mode of transport and we don't think that's an exaggeration, especially given how much luggage you can purchase to bring with you whether it be in your car, on a plane, on a train or even on a bus or boat.
7 Work Curiosities - Very Frustrating
All year round you'll complain about the little things that make you hate your job, and you'll babble on about how you can't wait to jet off and enjoy a well deserved holiday.
Then, for reasons that we'll never quite be able to understand or explain, you're left thinking about what could be happening at work whilst you're away. It's a really frustrating process but it's how we seem to condition ourselves to think without even realising it, probably because we spend so much time there.
If you're a freelancer and work from home (what a time to be alive) then we still think this could apply to you.
6 Typical Tourist Syndrome - The Big Transformation
If you've never fallen into this kind of category, then you haven't lived.
The sensation of sitting back and being a 'typical tourist' so to speak is a really fun one, if only because you can allow yourself to let loose every once in a while.
Of course, the negatives behind this include you looking pretty foolish to other travellers around you, and it depends how much you care about that kind of thing. Whether you're amazed by something that others don't care about or you're just so starstruck by a certain monument or individual, it can be fairly obvious if you allow it to be.