Should We Get Traveling Out Of Our System Before We Settle Down?
It seems that now we are finding more and more ways to put off growing up – adulting is hard ya know? As far as lifestyle is concerned, because it’s so difficult for many people to buy their first home, they decide to settle down a lot later in life. Your mid-twenties, or even your thirties, are full to the brim with more youthful activities. And as we are all well within our rights to live the life we want to live, so many of us are after experiences instead of following the path that our parents and grandparents did, which is as soon as you leave education, you get a job, settle down, have a million children – that sort of thing. Traveling is one of those things that you either really want to do, or you can even find yourself regretting you didn’t do as much later in life. So should we get traveling out of our system before we settle down, and what are the benefits to a well-traveled experience that you can apply to your future life?
Traveling Gives You A Wealth Of Experiences (good And bad)
As we take the opportunities that present themselves to us, traveling is one of those great ways to get as many experiences as possible under our belts. One of the main reasons people love traveling so much is because it’s that wanderlust, the ability to find the diversity and wonderment in what the world holds; and these experiences are what will make us gain an appreciation of what we have at home. And while we are excited, prior to our journey, we have to remember that the task of traveling the world will throw up as many bad experiences as good ones.
But this isn’t something we should be fearful of. In fact, we can learn a lot from the bad experiences as much as we can the good. And this is where reality can set in because travel is difficult. It’s a very stressful undertaking, and if you’re someone who is not used to a high amount of pressure, traveling will put your ability to cope under the microscope. Because, after all, traveling is, for the most part, a very cramped, long-haul affair. And if you make numerous connecting flights, you function on very little sleep, and you’ve got to thrive under your own initiative. Travel stress comes in numerous forms, from the airport problems to our own personal anxiety.
In fact, the airport is arguably one of the worst parts of traveling. There is an airport in San Antonio that is considered one of the worst in the United States because of canceled flights and general unease. From the perspective of the budding traveler, you can either view this as an extreme negative that will put you off traveling for life, or you can look at it as a way for you to gain a true perspective of what is really bad in the world, especially if you’re prone to suffering from āfirst world problemsā.
There’s No Rush To Get That Mortgage
For all of the positive experiences that traveling can bring you in life, that idea of perspective is something we can’t always gain when we’re at home, surrounded by the same sights, sounds, and people. Going to another side of the world, to a country where people have no concept of retirement because they don’t have a word for it in their language can be humbling and sobering. And while we can see on television what the poorest countries in the world have to go through on a daily basis, it can make us reassess what’s important in life. Do we need to get that mortgage to get on the property ladder like our parents keep telling us? This all ties in with that idea of security. And yes, there will be a time that you’ll want to settle down with the right person, or maybe this isn’t something for you at all, but when it comes to those modern shackles like a mortgage, remember what the word āmortgageā is derived from…
Traveling Can Sometimes Be A Distractionā¦
It’s interesting, because the older generations never had the opportunity to travel or to explore the world, and therefore explore themselves. But on the other hand, traveling can be a distraction from the things in life that you really want. Traveling very well may be just a way to put things off. Because traveling is a great way to open your mind and give yourself an appreciation of what is important in life, as a woman, we are more than aware we are on borrowed time – or so we are constantly reminded. As we potentially feel the temptation of motherhood edging its way into our consciousness, before it takes over our entire train of thought, traveling can feel like a distraction, especially if you have people telling you that you should get it out of your system.
But it’s important to remember that if you completely forgo traveling in order to settle down and have children right away, you may be depriving yourself of vital experiences. These experiences can help you become a better person, and gives you that essential grounding. You have seen the world and what it has to offer, so you can put that beast to bed, but there are many families that go traveling anyway. Because people view settling down as being tied to one place, this isn’t the truest representation of modern life. And yes, you have to give consideration to the children if you are going to uproot them. There’s no reason to say you can’t do it when the children are a little bit older, especially during the summer break or school holidays! One of the things I most admire about my in-laws is that they took their boys to a different country every summer – introducing them to the different cultures of the world and life outside of their norms.
Should we get traveling out of our system before we settle down? The real question is: what do you want out of life? It’s a wonderful thing to learn about the world and ourselves and we can apply so many of these learned skills to our home life. Getting out there and experiencing other things beyond your hometown is a wonderful method to grow your horizons. But it’s also valuable in the fact that you know what is out there, and you have taken the opportunity to make the most of it while you’re young. And hey, who’s to say you can’t do it after the children have grown up? But if it’s a fire burning inside you, doing it while you’re young and relatively healthy (and free of burden) is the more sensible option.
