Coming back from cruising the icy blue Pacific Ocean, while watching the snow-tipped mountains around me embrace themselves in the Alaskan sun, I realized reality had become a second world to me. Returning from this oasis of fantasy and majestic beauty, I find myself longing to travel to other places and to return to Alaska. Looking back to last summer when I traveled to Paris and London, I had the most difficult time adjusting to everyday life when I returned.

I am currently suffering from my incurable case of wanderlust. I Googled positive quotes about life in hopes to cure my case of wanderlust.

The majority of the quotes I read encompassed the dreaded realization that you should be happy where your feet are.

I look down at the chestnut colored wooden panels at Press Coffee in San Antonio. I smile as I tap my dusty sandals on the ground to the guitar jazz music playing. Coffee shops in my mind have always helped me escape from my worries. I often go to them to write or draw. I look up around me. The smell of fresh coffee beans and warm leather fill my nostrils and I am happy.

I look outside the door at the always sunny streets of San Antonio, I continue to smile. But then there is something jumping in my heart that travels up to mind- the longing to see Parisian art nouveau buildings and striped awnings or an endless mountain range covered in emerald vegetation. It is not that I’m not happy here, I just miss the world of traveling.

When you notice these symptoms it is clear enough to diagnosis yourself with a serious case of wanderlust. But I feel like I have a lot to confess to being one. I don’t want you to get the idea I’m not happy here. I’m young and like Warhol says “Everyone needs a fantasy.”

1. You'll slowly flip through pages of VOGUE and ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST dreaming you were there.

I have found collaging to not only be therapeutic for my diagnosis but lets my mind wander. Cutting pages out of these magazines and creating a mood board with them is an often symptom of wanderlusting but can eventually help lighten your travel bug.

2. You're usually the most creative.

When wander lusting your imagination truly gets out of hand. Driving to the store you’ll look out the window and imagine you’re driving on old cobbled roads or the sandy streets of Casablanca. This can be a huge distraction and can be life threatening especially when driving, so I advise you to be parked somewhere. Journaling outside is always a fabulous idea. I like to use my creativity when I’m wanderlusting to create other worlds to run off to.

3. You love life.

Just because you're dreaming of other places doesn’t mean you’re not happy where you are. When I’m at home I cherish every moment because I realize that I am so lucky to have been to the places I have been, and I know I will get to go to more places in the future. Treat your home as your castle full of dreams.

4. You're a daydreamer.

While looking at quotes I came across a few that bashed daydreaming and said stay in reality so you can focus more. I disagree with this. I mean, of course, you can’t wake up every morning not reading the papers or watching the news. You have to be aware of life. But day dreaming about what if this happened, or what if I did this, or if this was real, makes you a happier person because the little things in life will start to have more meaning.

5. You're usually a romantic.

What I mean by romantic is (according to the definition on Urban Dictionary) "Romantics love nature, old things like castles and churches, love poetry and beauty, and have a tendency to get carried away by ideas…They also tend to get randomly depressed, but this is because the weather and colors and beautiful things make them act differently than others." I couldn’t agree more with this. Like I said earlier small things that don’t affect other people will affect you, but that is because you have a greater appreciation for life. Don’t hide from romanticism but embrace it.

6. You revel in coffee shops.

Like I also mentioned earlier, coffee shops become your sanctuary. The moment you walk inside it is like a door into your imagination. You can go anywhere.