It's my favorite time of the year--holiday season! Honestly, winter break in college helps students recover from all the stress, workload, and sleep deprivation by spending time with family, eating too much, and just sleeping in on those wintry mornings. However, if you're like me, you use winter break to travel in order to escape the cold. This year, I'll be headed to Asia for the holidays where I'll be rekindling with extended family while learning more about my cultural heritage. Even though this isn't my first time going to Asia, it's my first time going back in seven years. I'm thoroughly excited, but I'm definitely nervous as well.

Generally, anyone who travels abroad knows the international packing checklist: bugspray (for the exotic pests), edible snacks (in case I can't eating anything there), proper clothing (the weather is variable regardless of destination), and most importantly a To-Do list (for all the places to visit, people to meet, or things to buy). However, unlike other travelers, I have a traveling anxiety checklist too. In this checklist, I include: the leisure books (to kill time on the lengthy flight), sanitizer (everything is germ-infested), gum (to make sure my ears don't pop), technology (cannot really do without), travel pillow (the seats are just not comfortable), loads of medication (getting sick is so easy), and most important of all--my traveling companions (mom and dad).

I know that this checklist seems exhaustive, maybe even a little unnecessary for some people, but it is important to alleviate anxiety when traveling. Otherwise, you'll be in for a miserable trip and most likely need to recover from a lot of negativity once you arrive to your destination.

It's okay to take precautions and make sure that you feel mentally prepared to travel. You don't want to be the individual on the plane throwing fits, distressed, upset, or constantly bothering the flight attendant. Traveling is an experience in which you can take a break from your daily life and finally RELAX.

If you're traveling this holiday season, I wish you the best traveling experience and happy holidays!