Wanderlust is defined as "a strong desire to travel." For some, this desire is a lot stronger than for others. Millenials have adapted the term wanderlust from its original use in 1902 to fit their feelings towards traveling (Nowhere). The new youth generation sees traveling as their biggest goal in life. People want to see all the wonders the world has to offer, which is hard to do when you're broke.
Most college students choose to study abroad not because of the education but to experience traveling to another place. Traveling has become an addiction for our generation. But this addiction can't always be fulfilled. Here are 11 struggles of a college student with wanderlust.
1. Seeing all the pretty places
It really is picture perfect sometimes and you're not there. You want to see, do, and experience all the pretty things you see on the Internet. But, you can't just reach through the screen to go there. You have to settle with just seeing it on a screen.
2. Boring life
As college students, it's work, work, work all the time. It gets boring and if you don't have an active social life, it becomes tiring to just go to school all the time. People want to travel to get away from the everyday redundancy of their lives.
3. Experience
You wish you could experience traveling and exploring. It would be much better than sitting in class listening to a professor. You try to convince your parents it's a once in a lifetime experience. But no one will listen, you won't experience it any time soon.
4. Instagram
It's the absolute worst to go on Instagram and see people posting pictures from places around the world. You see the colors, lights, and landscape of some place that you wish you could go to.
5. Looking at your bank account
College students are stereo-typically poor. Some think we'd be lying about this, but it's true. Paying for books, food and other expenses every semester takes a toll on your bank account. If you barely have enough money to buy dinner, how would you pay for a trip to another country?
6. Planning future trips
Even though you're not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, you still plan out trips that you wish you could go on. This could be by yourself or with friends, but those trips are still there. You look up touristy places you could go to or restaurants to try.
7. Bucket list
Your bucket list just keeps getting longer from all the places you add to it. For every one thing you cross off, you add at least five more places to go to. At this rate, you'll never get to everything on your bucket list.
8. Small tastes
When you go on little trips, you just want it to keep going. You reach that adventurous state that you've been craving for so long. But then it's over. That sense of adventure slowly starts to disappear when you're back at home in your normal life.
9. Jealousy
When you see other people traveling and just want to be them. They post nice pictures and posts from wherever they are. You really are Ariel when you say you want to be where they are.
10. Responsibilities
You have responsibilities, a.k.a. college and family, holding you back.They're the one's keeping you here. You could get on a plane one day and never come back, but then you remember your mom would kill you if you did that.
11. Settling
In the end, you just have to settle with the life you're living and hope a traveling opportunity will come along. But that doesn't mean you can't live the life you have to the fullest. Find adventure in your everyday life.
So, if you're a college student wanting to travel and adventure, keep your dream alive. Someday you'll reach your goals of traveling. It might be within the country or some exotic foreign land. Go wherever your heart desires and try to forget how much it's draining your bank account.
