What We Don’t Talk About After We Travel

When asked about our travels, we often highlight the exceptional journeys, experiences, relationships, and misadventures, but we rarely talk about life after the trip.

It hits you right away. The last couple of days before your departure become a struggle. You try to make most of your last days as if it were your last, because as travelers, who knows when we might be able to go back. If we do go back, what we once loved might no longer be the same. Our journeys become tangible as we experience life to its fullest. We chase stories, memories, relationships, and culture. It’s a beautiful feeling that one has to experience to understand the heartbreak. We live life to the fullest as our motto becomes, “when can I ever do this again?” The feeling of nostalgia for a place that was never yours fills you the moment you throw your backpack and close the trunk of the cab. When you close that door, you know it's the end of this chapter of your life. You’re not only leaving the lush experiences but the friends you meet along the way. To leave a place where you feel the most at home is like leaving your lover.

Everyone becomes your best friend when you travel. Nothing can compare to the bond shared between these people as you share every moment of your adventure. The drunken nights, daring adventures, and mash of personalities become a reason for your camaraderie. We no longer see race, religion, class, or anything divisive. We are brothers and sisters from across the world. Whenever a person within our group leaves, we mourn. The last hug could be the last one in a long time. Saying goodbye to your new best friend is tough at first, but the more seasoned you are, the easier it gets.

Traveling is really like falling in love. It truly is better to have loved than not loved at all. This is why I urge you to take that big step and go on a trip on your own. The friends you leave become your friends for a lifetime. Now, you have a reason to travel to their part of the globe to visit. You get to live vicariously through your friends who are still traveling. When you do meet, you now have new adventures to talk about. Every time you travel you fall in love again, so don’t fear the heartbreak. Life is to have the best story before you leave, so explore.