What We Leave Behind

Just so you know I'm always thinking about you mama. Even when I'm at the beach. 

So far I've made traveling sound great, and it is, but you do have to prepare yourself for the loneliness that you encounter time-to-time being out on the road. For me traveling alone is a bit easier than it is for some people because I've never lived in one place more than five years, and I am an only child, with no cousins who was raised by a single mum. I've also talked about how your fellow travelers become an away from home family, but as much as my friends are like brothers and sisters to me out on the road, it doesn't mean I don't get lonely and miss home sometimes. You do have to prepare yourself to miss some moments and milestones that you wish you could be there for. You're going to miss birthdays, holidays, weddings, births, etc. This week I came out of a job interview crying because I felt awful that my mama had gone into surgery and I wasn't at home to be with her. It's moments like that, that make it hard to be away.

When you hit those times that make you question whether you made the right decision by leaving home, sometimes you have to remember all of the other beautiful moments and adventures that you would have never been part of if you hadn't left. In the past year since being on my own I've met people from all over the world, worked on a farm, gone on a sea plane, canoeing, dog sledding, whitewater rafting, surfing, and a majority of that I accomplished in a little over a month. It's the price we pay as travelers or backpackers, that sometimes who we love and what we love to do, aren't necessarily going to be in the same place.