Wanderlust, a cliche and overrated term defined by the overwhelming desire to travel, is one that practically anyone and everyone has experienced at least once or twice. Personally being born and raised in a location that people literally travel miles and miles to visit, I can’t help but feel a little stuck sometimes.
Truthfully, when someone such as myself grows up taking field trips to the same amusement parks or even seeing these amusement parks on the way home, there just isn’t the same sort of “magic” that there once was. So here’s when these feelings of wanderlust kick in and to a certain extent, I do believe giving into those feelings of wanderlust are the only cure.
Because this entire generation has been raised in a time of extremely rapid change, we can’t help but not only become very easily able to adapt to our surroundings, but also unfazed in spite of overwhelming circumstances. So here’s the question: How do you avoid taking your surroundings for granted?
Besides being faced with the already conflicting issue of being more prone to be on one’s phone than taking in the surroundings, there’s also the issue of channeling the desire to escape into something more productive. As much as our adaptation should be admired, it should also be asked if there can be a sort of balance. In other words, how do we keep ourselves from avoiding the simple task of just getting away from our attachments to being able to appreciate all the moments that we’re given even if they’re mundane or not?
Personally, I can’t help but not only feel a little disappointed, but also a little mournful when I come to realize that I have lost the adoration and excitement for something I once had. Similar to discovering a new song so beyond amazing that this new infatuation becomes a fixation on the repeat button. But then there’s this small fear behind the back of my mind, this dreadful anticipation of one moment finding myself unable to avoid the urge of consistently bobbing my head, rapidly tapping my foot to the beat, and practicing my air guitar in front of the mirror to one day just suddenly skipping onto the song.
But much like being hit with feelings of wanderlust, the cure is actually quite simple. Spending time away from the familiar, even for just a while, is a refreshing reminder of what was once taken for granted.
Even when on a budget, especially when facings the trials and tribulations of being on a college budget, there’s guaranteed to be someplace you’ve never been to before to remind you of what was once taken for granted. In fact, wanderlust is actually a pretty good feeling to have. Because feeding the yearn to travel and to experience new people and new places, comes with the gift of gaining an open mind.
