Dealing With the Backpacker’s Blues

Traveling may be fun for the most of us, but for others, it may be a little more difficult. Traveling means being away from your friends and family, finding yourself outside of your comfort zone, struggling with communicating with others or simply trying to find yourself. No one ever said it would be easy! But that’s the beauty of it all.

Ever get those butterflies in your stomach when finding yourself in an uncertain situation? Of course, we all do! But the key is learning how to deal with with them! Whatever you do, don’t withdraw yourself from it all!

• Give yourself time to adapt to your environment. I remember when I first started backpacking. I’d spend 2 days in a city, move on to the next, and so forth. Not only is it tiring but you don’t get to appreciate the environment you’re in. Spend a few days at each place you visit and get immersed in the culture/lifestyle. It may be difficult to adap at first but after only a few days, you’ll start to feel more comfortable.
• Let yourself go, meet people! Yeah yeah, you can miss all your friends from home but you know what? They’ll still be there when you get back! So appreciate other fellow travelers you meet on the road and learn from there! Most importantly, appreciate those special minutes, hours, days or weeks because it may take years before you get to spend time with them again.
• And most importantly, enjoy! Stop thinking about the what if’s… think about the regrets you may have in the long run for not doing something! Be bold! Be adventurous!