How I overcame the fear and guilt of travelling.

Yes. I did it. The flights are booked and I’m off to Australia for 6 months, the excitement and overall experience of booking the trip is taking over my ability to feel fear. The next day after the pride of telling almost everyone I meet that I’m swanning off to Australia for 6 months, the anxiety begins to set in. I didn’t tell my mum and dad straight away, I wasn’t sure why? Maybe when I did tell them then it would feel very real and that once it’s out there I can’t change my mind. The days to follow I told all my family, my sister cried, my mum cried and my dad told me to stay clear of the out-backs because he saw Wolf Creek in 2008 and I would most certainly be murdered by some Australian maniac. It wasn’t until I told my mum I was going that I felt the true stab of anxiety in my chest, I knew she was upset and the thought of making her upset bothered me even more. I began thinking about the length of time that I’m going for, maybe it’s too long? But in the end, you have to think of yourself. It sounds SUPER selfish and maybe it is to a certain extent but, it is your life.

So I began to share EVERYTHING with my mum, this helped me overcome some of the guilt that I was feeling leaving her behind and this helped her overcome the fear of me going. I included her in my plans, what I’m doing over there, where I’m staying and potentially going to work. I want my family to share the same excitement as me by looking up the “must see” places with them, researching together on what I need to take and all the minor details. This helps. A LOT.

Feeling guilty is completely normal, I mean you’re leaving your family and friends to go off travelling whilst they stay at home living a normal life and working their 9–5. This feeling probably won't leave until you’ve been back for 3 months and your tan has started to fade (joking). You’ll still feel guilt from time-to-time, you’re human but just know that you’re not gone forever and you’ll feel a lot less guilt when you’re back home working your 9–5 so enjoy the sun! (or snow, wherever you might be heading)

Now the fear, I’m a worrier, I worry about EVERYTHING. The first thing I did was to join a couple of backpacker groups on Facebook, this has given me more of an idea of what to expect when I’m over there after all the questions people are posting I’ll most likely be asking them myself at one point, read the comments. I also jumped on Netflix (sounds a little stupid now I’m saying it out loud) to see what Australian documentaries I could watch, I found 72 Dangerous Animals and it was BRILLIANT. So whatever part of the world you’re going to, check to see if Netflix has a documentary… might save your life. Google backpacker tips on what to take, read as many as you can because there are suggestions you would never even think of.

I’m not air bound for a good few months yet, but the thought of the gruelling 25-hour flight is looming over my head like a dark cloud. I just keep thinking to myself “how on earth am I going to cope?” I’ll probably have to have a glass of wine (or a few) to keep me in a sedated state, one too many and it’s the scene from Bridesmaids so I’ll have to watch out for that. Then it’s the Jetlag, the Boss at the end of every video game, ready to take me out with one fell swoop. I’m worrying about the Jetlag already.

So, the fear and anxiety of travelling trickled away after doing some research, the more research you do the more excited you’ll get because seeing the world is something not many people do and live to regret. Whenever you start to feel the fear creeping back in just remember you’re about to embark on a journey of a lifetime, fear is part of that journey but don’t let it take over.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope it helped.

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