I think the hardest part about travelling, by far, is the moment you come back to 'reality'. While on my own travels, I discussed this at length with a new friend: Camilla and I met in a hostel/hotel in Milan. We were staying in the same room, just the two of us (my brother was staying in Venice an extra night) and decided to go for a quiet drink.
We talked about a lot of things, but the discussion stayed with me because of something Camilla said. She had been travelling for over a year and many of her friends back home in Norway were asking her when she was planning on going back to 'real life'. Real life. Strange concept. Once you've decided to pack in your day job, start heading around the world and see where life takes you, the idea of any other life seems restrictive to say the least. Camilla and I agreed that other people's concept of 'real life' is very different from our own.
Now I am back in Florida, a place that I left over ten years ago and it doesn't feel like 'real life' one bit. I'm so happy to be spending time with my mother, to be back with my family, but the idea of looking for a job and settling down is completely terrifying. How do people manage this part? I suppose my case is slightly different as I was living in London and working in a busy office, whereas now I am living with my parents again in a very small American town. But the idea of settling down is the same whether I am in London or Florida. It's just awfully difficult to make a decision about what I want to do and where I want to be.
The plan for the moment is to venture north, stay with family in Illinois for a while before taking a road trip out west. Hopefully in the next few months, I'll get more of the travelling need out of my system and clarify my own ideas about what I'd like to be doing. But 'real life' is still a concept I can't quite grasp. If anyone has the answer, I'd love to hear all about it!
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