How to Overcome Your Crippling Fears and Convince the Rest of the World That You’re Not Crazy
If you dub yourself a World Traveler, chances are you’ve experienced the mixed bag of emotions and reactions that comes along with this title. While most mentions of world travel conjure envious sighs and dreamy eyes, there are members of society that just don’t understand why people feel the need to travel. Any determined traveler says “screw it” and moves on, but even the most secure adventurer will face moments of indecision. Whether it be small-minded coworkers, a fearful grandmother or friends who simply don’t want to lose you to a foreign country, making the decision to travel the world is not always an easy one.
Where could you end up?
Most of the time, we’re not out to convince people about why we’re traveling the world. It’s our reason, and our reason alone. To hell with the ignorant, to hell with the passport-less, to hell with the village squatters who consider long-distance travel to be a car ride to a city two hours away! We’re out to see the world, to taste foreign foods, to absorb culture, climb pyramids and drink exotic beers!
Despite these gallant goals, there comes a time when the undercurrent of society begins to erode our self-confidence, when the glare of Expectations and Responsibilities creeps a bit too close to the sensitive underbelly of our hearts. Furthermore, post-graduate routine breeds comfort, and comfort breeds an idealized notion of what travel means once a full-time job has been established. Suddenly, travel is a wild-bearded hippie who’s been hitchhiking for seven years. Travelling can commence only after certain levels of funds have been acquired. A six month stint in Ecuador doesn’t exactly look goof on the resume. Excuses in the real world accumulate faster than the number of cities on the To-See list, and they especially plague those of us fresh out of college or just beginning to consider the lifestyle.
It is the classic clash of Real Life and Fantasy with one small difference: the determination to demolish the invisible wall separating priorities and plane tickets. Some people don’t agree with this, believing Real Life involves hard work, no fun, and a particular submission to mortgages and misery. Others have strict expectations about what a life-well-led looks like: College studies, degrees, high-paying job, a never-ending road forward from there. World travel never figures in, unless it’s within a two-week time frame and involving a “safe” travel deal advertised on the internet.
But for those of us out to really taste the world, that style of life isn’t enough (or acceptable). Going against the grain, then, in a world where “smart” equates to “amassing wealth” and “stable” equates to “steady job in one city”, means that we will inevitably butt heads with someone along the way .
The most important thing to remember is your goal. Whatever it is – join the Peace Corp, teach English abroad, see every continent, climb all the pyramids in the world, or develop a sustainable living farm in northern Russia – keep it at the forefront of your mind and never become complacent. It’s easy to slink into the shadows of the mainstream, to let raised eyebrows and a quick inhale from another convince you that maybe what you’re planning or striving for really is foolish or irresponsible. Choosing an alternative lifestyle, or even an average lifestyle with certain alternative embellishments, is an invitation for commentary.
Don’t ever forget that this life is meant to be lived. Curiosity is a relentless human characteristic, so if you feel the itch to travel or learn about new cultures, you come by it honestly. So if you have a nagging aunt who insists on reminding you of the safety issues in Guatemala without ever mentioning the culture or history, or a nervous friend who makes generalized comments about “the Asians”, 
entertain them with caution. Get educated about where you’re going and what you’re doing, but don’t let second-or-third-hand warnings deter you from pursuing what you really want to do. Whether it’s crime, thieves, political instability or bad weather, the news is always sensationalized and it gets worse as it’s handed down from the source. Be conscious of the dangers, but temper this with a healthy rationale.
Above all else, however, to each his or her own. What your small-town friends decide to do is their own business, just like your decision to prance around England or Thailand is your prerogative. Each decision deserves respect, and looking down your nose at someone who chooses a corporate lifestyle is no better than them scorning your vagabond/backpacking/flashpacking/world connoisseur lifestyle.
If you find that your own fear is your greatest enemy, remind yourself of your goals, that this life is meant to be lived, and of the classic piece of advice: where there’s a will, there’s a way. If traveling is important to you, if you absolutely cannot survive this earthly existence without doing so, then you will find a way to make it happen. Ask yourself if you’d rather feel the satisfaction of leading a life full of accomplished dreams and satisfied curiosities, or the pervasive disappointment of letting time slip by and by until the spark has fizzled and the ripeness of relative youth has settled into a pungent and rotten fruit.
There’s no time to waste. Some people don’t get it. But those of us that do, we already have the plane ticket.
Travel on.