Traveling is one of the most desired activities all around the world, and I can definitely share in that. While it is a basic desire of most humans, for others, it's less of a want, and more of a need; actually it's more of a calling. Here are some signs that you may also suffer from this disorder, otherwise known as wanderlust:
1. Need to just go.
For me, this is the most apparent factor of wanderlust. This is the one that gets your heart pumping and your mind racing. You can feel this in your bones and it won’t leave you alone. The desire happens randomly during the day, or while watching your favorite TV show, all I know is that it is strong and you can’t ignore it. And if you do happen to push the desire away for now, it will come back swinging and with a vengeance. You can ignore it for a while, but that desire is strong and it is fierce and it wants to be acknowledged.
2. Desire to connect to a physical location.
Now these next few are harder to acknowledge unless you have already traveled a little. Once you actually accept the calling of a wanderer, the desire to just go deepens, and the desire to actually physically participate in a location is explored. For me, traveling is a lot about actually being in a foreign place. I love the action of physically being on the ground and taking in the surroundings of different cities and countries: the buildings, the cobblestone streets, the different greenery. I’m obsessed with just being somewhere.
3. Desire to connect to a people.
Along with the desire to be in a place, there is the desire to talk to and meet the locals. One of my favorite activities is getting the chance to understand the locals, and to understand their relation to the city and how the two interact. I want so badly to know what it is like to grow up and live in these amazing and different places and how that affects someone and their perspective.
4. Desire to become a part of the culture.
Continuing on getting to know the people and the place, is becoming a part of these places. Don’t get me wrong, being a tourist is great, but once you get past the surface, fully immersing yourself is so much more rewarding. It’s the fact of having these physical and emotional interactions have an impact on you and your life and your psyche. You become a traveler when you don’t just visit these places, but you dive into them.
Traveling is so much more than a vacation; it’s a learning experience with so much more value than many people put on it. You change and grow so much with each exploration, and I’ve learned things I could have never learned in a classroom.
