Courage Is Coming Back Home After Spending A Year Abroad
Suzanne, 31, Miami
It’s early morning and while all my friends are at work, I am sitting at home wondering if the last year was reality or dream. You see, a year ago my husband and I decided to take a break from our careers in order to travel the world.
And it was the best year of my life.
Before it turned into the incredible year that it was, I was scared to go!
Social media constantly shows us stories of individuals who lead these nomadic lifestyles but I had never met one of these unique people in real life.
The decision to take this trip was exciting but at the same time felt so big and lonely, because we were going to do something unheard of and so far outside our comfort zones.
I actually made a list of everything that had me uneasy before leaving because I wanted to see how I would feel about this apprehension a year later.
I thought the scariest part was actually making the decision to go but once I committed, more jitters arose.
Pre Round The World Trip Fears
- Will my Crohn’s Disease flare-up?
- I’m going to miss my family…
- What if I don’t find a job when we get back?
- Will our budget run out?
- Where will I poop? (it’s a Crohn’s thing)
- What if I don’t learn anything new?
When I look back at these qualms, I recognize why I felt them, but in hindsight… they were ridiculous!
Throughout our year abroad my health was great, I spoke with my family daily, our budget was way under what we expected, and my body adapted easily to every bathroom situation around the world 💩 .
Now that we are back in Miami, many people tell us how brave we are, how they have always wanted to do a trip like ours but don’t have the guts.
The interesting thing is that
I don’t feel braver or more courageous because I took this trip.
Yes I was initially scared, yet once we were on our journey I had a thought come back to me multiple times;
“You are crazy to have even hesitated! This is exactly where you need to be.”
If I would have let any of those doubts of health, homesickness, discomfort, and jobs hold me back from traveling the world, I would have been letting fear take away the best year of my life!
This year of travel has changed me.
Traveling liberates you from the expectations of society and allows you to be yourself, whatever that means.
Travel has taught me to be resourceful, open-minded, tolerant, empathetic, and humble.
To be honest though, now my biggest concern is losing these new changes I have discovered and love in myself.
Post Round The World Trip Fears
- Will routine take me back to an unchallenging comfort zone?
- I don’t want to lose the feeling of magic that traveling filled me with…
- What if I can’t adapt lessons learned on the road to life back home?
You know what the cool thing is? I actually LOVE these new doubts.
Overcoming fears gives you confidence and helps you face the new fears that are eventually bound to appear. Because that’s life, we’re always working to conquer a new mountain.
And even though my “What do I do with my life” worry is still unanswered, I’m not afraid of that anymore. The fact that I faced all my other worries successfully has given me the confidence with this one as well.
I believe in myself and know that with patience and determination I am on my way to finding the best path for me.
So after this year of courage and open-mindedness, instead of “fear” I interpret these new concerns as “motivation to work my butt off for what I want and believe in.”
