Don’t Guilt me for Traveling

· by · in Travel. ·

We love people who commit their lives to traveling. Nomads, that are always in new exotic places are cool. We look at their pictures and marvel at their lifestyles. We think they must have done extraordinary things to get to where they are. They deserve it.

We’re happy for people that finally go on vacation, after years. We think good for them, they deserve it. It’s almost commendable to take a vacation after being at the daily grind for so long, actually the longer the better. The more worn down you are when you go on vacation, the better approval you get.

But, a funny thing happens when you’re somewhere in the middle. People go from being interested in your travels and excited for your adventures, to a little judgmental. Instead of, “that sounds awesome!” you begin to hear, “another trip?” or a pointed, “must be nice.” Sometimes it’s downright awkward talking about future plans.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m generalizing quite a bit here. I have plenty of people in my life that are supportive, and always excited for me to explore the world. They’re even happy to see my hundreds of pictures (usually of the same things), and hear all my stories to the tiniest detail (shout out to my mom). But, there’s always that jealous Judy messing with your energy.

I know this isn’t something that should bother me. I guess the reason that it does, is because I’m always excited for everyone. It’s so much more productive to be inspired by other’s travels than to be envious of them! When someone goes somewhere new and tells me about it, it’s an opportunity to add to my bucket list with some insider information.

The platitude that traveling is the only thing you spend money on that makes you richer is trite but true.

45 responses to “Don’t Guilt me for Traveling”

  1. We are well past that ‘era’ of our lives when we even bothered with people who are judgemental on our constant traveling. We’ve learned to ignore these negative energy!

    Liked by 3 people

  3. I feel like of all the comments, the one’s that were the most annoying are always the mild jabs from family or family friends who assume that traveling and building a career, can’t be done simultaneously. I just shrug it off at this point 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  5. Don’t let it get you down too much; people will be people – and that means there will be jealous people or people who don’t celebrate in your happiness or blessings. It’s unfortunate, but it shouldn’t stop you from doing what you love most.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. I have weeded people out of my lives who are negative and unsupportive! Traveling is what I do…my hobby and my passion so I post about it constantly. If people don’t approve….I don’t care!

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Some people have travel envy, but I agree they need to keep their negative comments to themselves! Just because they can’t or uninterested they shouldn’t be judging anyone for travelling. I think it’s great you are doing what you love and you keep doing it and meet like minded travellers!
    Great post 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  8. Amen girl! I get the “must be nice” quite a bit paired with a decent amount of jealousy. But equally I’m told how inspiring my travels are. So crew the Jealous Judys and focus on Inspiring Irene 🙂
    (i don’t think i could be any cheesier if i tried)

    Liked by 3 people

  9. Preach!!! I hate the ‘must be nice’ comment.. especially when you work 60 hour weeks on top of studying to get your education and save for travel, all at the same time!
    Keep doing what you’re doing girl! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  11. This seems to be a common topic lately. No one knows how much work it takes to live in this lifestyle and the sacrifices that are made but you. They only see the perks. I say disconnect from those who do not share your enthusiasm for life. Stick with those who support you cut those negative Nelly’s loose.

    Liked by 3 people

    • That’s exactly it. People seem to act like these nice trips are just wrapped up in a bow and handed to you as if it isn’t a lot of work to execute them. You’re so right, thanks for your thoughts!

      Like

  12. I can totally relate to this. I’ve had a few looks before and some come from the people closest to me… It’s hard choosing the path less travelled but when I find other strong and independent women doing what I’m doing (and sometimes a whole lot more), I’m reassured that I’m on the right path. Thanks for sharing something I sometimes find hard to articulate. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  13. Yes, I can totally relate to this! I am currently traveling for 9 months with my boyfriend, and if we mention we go to another place or something, the standard answer is kind of ‘aha’. Not that fun, when you are excited 😉.

    Liked by 3 people

  14. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I had a family member ask me of my plans after college, I just graduated with a business degree by the way, and when I told him I basically want to find a way to live a life of traveling he told me I am crazy and I need to start working a building a career right away. I just got into bogging and I love being able to relate to people on here. NAMASTE. Peace and love.

    Liked by 3 people

    • I don’t understand why some people think it’s their place to decide what others do. I’m glad you’re finding your places. Thanks so much, and keep following your passions 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Interesting post ! Beautifully Written & very well said, instead of feeling envious of ardent travelers , we should follow their foot steps instead..

    As for my own wanderlust , I visited a beautiful Hill station in North India recently !

    And Here ‘s a short write up from my recently updated Travel Diary :

    My ‘With Family’ story of a near perfect Hill Station !!(Photograph based short story )

    https://the-passport-souls.travel.blog/2017/06/10/my-with-family-story-of-a-vacation-at-a-near-perfect-hill-station/

    Hope you find it interesting ! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  18. I think there will be always some ratio that will be jealous not just when you post your travel pics and stories but otherwise also .. but that’s okay 🙂
    You can simply ignore them 🙂
    Haters gonna hate

    Liked by 3 people

    • Very true, there’s always something to envy. Even I’ve been guilty of it. But I’ve been trying to be appreciate of what I have and not compare to other, while also ignoring the bad jealousy vibes towards me.

      Like

  20. Ahh the jealous judy type wears me down as well. It’s like you want everybody happy, but even your own happiness can somehow cause displeasure. it can get frustrating.

    Liked by 3 people

  23. 🙂 I know exactly what you mean. The length of acceptable answer to “How was your trip?” has gradually shrunk from four minutes to thirty seconds. But so it goes, the reasons for travel are known within, no? And when we meet somewhere out there, I’ll give you WAY more than four minutes to tell me how your trip is going. 😉
    Happy travels!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Exactly! You’re quite right through. I would really appreciate that lol. I love to hear about people’s travels, I don’t get how that’s not a universal thing.

      Like

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