The Travel Bug

I spent most of my life afraid of flying and simultaneously wanting to see the world which, as you can imagine, was a bit of a problem. When I told myself I had to get over it a couple years ago and that surprisingly worked, it couldn’t have happened at a better time in my life. Suddenly, I was flying out to visit my cousin in California. I was traveling often to Texas for work (something I didn’t know I’d have to do when I took on that job). And I had found myself a travel buddy to go on trips with. It all definitely woke up my wanderlust.

Then last year, I barely traveled. It was a mix of having a new job again, bad timing and just.. I don’t even know. I knew I needed to fix that this year but it wasn’t until a recent conversation with coworkers that really made me take action. I was out getting lunch with a couple girls on my team and we were talking about possible vacation plans this year. They spoke first mentioning Greece, Berlin, Dublin, Turks & Caicos and more. And when it got to me, I said hopefully California, Florida and maybe Montreal. But in my mind I was thinking — WHY ARE ALL MY TRIPS IN THE US?! How come I don’t have plans like that? Why is everything a “maybe” for me?

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It really irked me and the next day, I texted my close friend and traveling partner-in-crime and said, “Just wanted to say hi and tell you how desperate I am to travel this year.” She said she felt the same way, asked me where we should go and when (see, this is one of the many reasons why we're friends!). I did less than half an hour of quick research and texted back with 4 options (if you’re curious, they were Tokyo, Prague, England and Dublin). We quickly decided on Dublin because it’s beautiful and the price was something we could quickly save up for. A week later, we booked an AirBnB and a week after that I booked my flight. Best of all, we’re going the week of my birthday which gives me something extra to look forward to this summer.

Since then, I also booked tickets to California to see said friend and my cousin. I just feel like I can breathe easier now. I mean, that probably sounds dramatic but I genuinely felt like I was stuck in a rut last year and I’m determined to not let that be the case again. Traveling always seems to clear my mind and I’m looking forward to days of escaping to somewhere brand new.

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Do any of you guys experience wanderlust as strongly?

And if any of you have been to Dublin before, I'd love recommendations!