i feel stuck between two worlds the house/car/family world and the go/do/see world.

-Funchilde

I’m definitely with you there. I haven’t even left for my trip and it’s so hard being constantly pulled in both directions. In my case, everything and everyone I know is constantly pressuring me into the former. While all I can think about is the latter.

This life is the only shot we get, and it makes little sense to follow a safe, straight line until death.

- Ben

Well said, Ben. So true.

By the way…did you say that you hadn’t told anyone about your RTW trip except your parents? Does that include your girlfried – is this a solo mission?

- Ben

I’ve been meaning to write a post about this very subject for a long while because it’s been the most difficult part of my decision to leave.

I have told my girlfriend about it, but she doesn’t want to join me and is in denial about my leaving alone. I know she thinks I won’t follow through with it. It’s weighing heavy on me because I really want to enjoy the time we have together, but at the same time I somehow feel responsible for “leading her on”. I need to give this some more thought and try to put it into words.

I think all you can do is try to live without regrets. Do what you want to do and if you pay later you have to take it in good grace and off set it against the memories.

- ourman

Ourman, you always get me thinking and I love hearing how you and others a tad bit older than I compare your mindset now to your mindset when you were my age. I know it’s the closest thing I have to a looking glass into the future.

It’s the most bizarre damned thing in the world; people get out of school, make some money, pop out some kids and then buy a house in the ‘burbs…it’s not necessarily something they want, just something they do.

Borrowing from Fight Club, “we work jobs we don’t like to buy shit we don’t need.” Too often Americans wind up bored and painstakingly waiting for retirement, wondering where the hell their life went. This pattern seems widely acknowledged, yet few do anything about it.

You’re right to rail against this, and good on you for standing up to that external pressure – it’s a hard thing to do, especially when it means parting ways with loved ones. But this life is the only shot we get, and it makes little sense to follow a safe, straight line until death.

By the way…did you say that you hadn’t told anyone about your RTW trip except your parents? Does that include your girlfried – is this a solo mission?

i think growing up is about extending this circle of responsibility, to include others. not to conform to what they want you to be, but to help make others lives better when you can.

- Ian Mack

Ian, I think this is the most succinct way to put it that makes any sense to me. The problem is I don’t think most people see it this way. I think, it’s in many ways tied to consumerism and “stuff”, rather than the intangibles that provide true happiness.

The wonders of technology allow me to stay just as close and able to better my families’ lives from anywhere in the world as I would back home.

When they deride my want to travel at thirty years of age as irresponsible, I think it stems from their questioning why I’m not buying a house, “settling down” (another phrase that I’d like to hang up on the aforementioned hat rack), and generally following the same path to “growing up” that they chose.

For me growing up implies resignation and acceptance of a life preprogrammed and outlined by someone other than me. - Steve W.

Steve, though that sounds harsh, I agree that that’s what most people would consider “growing up”. Blech!

This is a common reaction to people who reject consumerism in general, not just travelers. - Stacy

That’s a good point, Stacy. My parents just bought a BMW and, while I’m happy for them because it makes them happy, I’m largely unimpressed. Five years ago, it would’ve made me envious. Now – I know there are simpler, cheaper, and more permanent pleasures in life. I tried explaining to my mother that my want for travel has made me more of an anti-consumer. She seemed perplexed.