Beginner's Guide to Disassembling Your Life for Travel
Time to Pick Up
Pack Up and Go
If you are an average postgrad individual, it can reasonably be assumed that you have been slapped by the stiff cold hand of societal responsibility.
Leaving the cocoon of college comes with some not so glamourous adulting that can leave you sapped for energy and desperate for some diversion. The grind of 9-5 is a real rude awakening after four years of basically only worrying about finals and who is going to go on a booze run.
How adulting makes me feel. More wine pls.
Travel often seems like a faraway fantasy that can only be achieved after “putting in your dues”, “buckling down”, or “(insert something your parents say after they see that you pay $6.50 for a coffee daily)". But, if you disassemble the life you feel trapped in with proper planning, you can create a new life for yourself and not end up a shiftless bum.
I looked at my life and took into account the responsibilities that were weighing me down.
These included:
My Job - I was working 9-5 at a really great dental marketing firm
My Apartment - I had a cute apartment with two roommates in Pacific Beach, San Diego
Funds - Although I was affording my lifestyle, I definitely wasn't saving to travel
Social Factors - I was deep in a long-term relationship that wasn’t growing towards traveling together
All My Damn Stuff - SO many clothes, SO much clutter
To start to break down a life that you have built for yourself is difficult but ultimately I felt stuck. Although San Diego is an amazing place to call home, I was ready for something different.
So where to begin…
I truly believe in the process that thoughts --> words --> actions.
As soon as I was sure that traveling was the direction I was headed I started telling people about my plans. Not in a wishy-washy way either.
You need to create the possibility of Intense cognitive dissonance if you don't start to make moves towards traveling. “I am leaving to travel long term,” and “I am headed to Thailand for an open-ended trip,” became frequently rotating proclamations.
Pretty soon the rest followed, including a big breakup, but that’s a story for another time. TLDR: If you aren't supported you can't grow. I let my roommates know and I decided to go back to freelancing full-time. I began to live small to save and slowly but surely cut down on my stuff. I thought that I would feel some attachment anxiety, but all I felt was a relief.
Now that I am looking at about a month until my trip, I am glad I took baby steps to get myself ready for the life I want to live. If you pace yourself and bite off small chunks you can easily disassemble your life.