By-product of Wanderlust

Wanderlust has always been a central theme of my being. Beginning at the age of nine, my father subscribed me to the Weekly Reader’s Book Club. Each weekend I could be found in my room, reading book after book of mysteries. I began to identify with and aspire to be the main character — someone who would ultimately find adventure while traveling out of state.

As I entered my teen years I began to envision myself as an adult, living on my own in California — warmer weather and life filled with excitement in a celebrity-filled area. With no direction from either of my divorced parents, this dream remained just that. I had no idea that I could somehow make my vision a reality.

I married a man who wanted to fulfill all of my dreams, especially my dreams of traveling. We barely said, “I do” before we flew to Los Angeles, where I instantly dismissed any possibility of living in an area that I could barely breathe in.

Sobered in the reality of California, my thoughts turned to North Carolina. “This has to be the place for me,” I thought. “A warmer climate, mountains, and a coastline – not to mention some of the best schools in the Triangle area, this is where I’d like to raise a family.” Leaving family behind meant more to my husband than it did to me; ultimately, I got a vacation in North Carolina, but no future in living there. Any future thoughts of travel were put on the backburner, as I started a family and established my roots in New England.

Twelve years later and divorced, I began to feel an eagerness to travel further than the U.S. and the Caribbean during my son’s school vacations. With European travel in mind, I embarked on my study abroad program as part of a select group.

Although the experience proved rewarding, it was bittersweet for me, because ironically, I suffered from a severe case of homesickness. Yearning to travel since a child, I had not entertained the idea of missing my loved ones. Through all of my daydreaming about living in exotic locations, I have finally realized that travel is temporary, and you live where your loved ones are.