Everyone Says I’m Running Away

When I first started traveling, my dad used to ask what I’m running away from with my travels. Another time, a commenter told me to stop running away from my problems and to start living life. “Grow up,” he said.

And, years ago, there was even a blog called “Mom says I’m running away.”

I’m not sure why, but there is this perception out there that anyone who travels long term and isn’t interested in settling down or getting a conventional job must be running away from something.

We travelers are running away from responsibility, being a grown-up, heartache, problems, etc, etc. We are all just Peter Pans refusing to be “adults.”

While American society thinks traveling is something everyone should do at one point, it’s only gap years after college or short vacations that seem to be acceptable. Get it out of your system and come back into The Matrix.

Those of us who lead nomadic lifestyles, or who linger just a bit too long somewhere before reaching that final homestretch, are all too often accused of running away.

Yes, go travel — but not for too long, the world says. Responsible people don’t just travel forever.

We nomads must have awful, miserable lives, or are weird, or have had something traumatic happen to us that we are trying to escape. People assume that we are simply running away from our problems, running away from “the real world.”

And to all those people who think I am running away, I say: you are right.

I am running away.

I’m running away from your idea of the “real” world.

I’m avoiding your life.

I’m running towards everything — towards the world, exotic places, new people, different cultures, and my own idea of freedom. I’m building a life that makes me happy.

While there may be exceptions (as there are with everything), most people who become nomads do so because they want to experience the world, not escape their problems. They are running away from office life, commutes, and weekend errands, and the corporate 9 to 5. They are running away from the strict path society has laid out as “normal.” The one that makes us mindless ants marching to and fro.

We (I) want to experience every culture, see every mountain, eat different food, attend crazy festivals, meet new people, and enjoy different holidays around the world. We want to construct a life that makes us happy on our own terms.

Life is short and we only get to live it once. I want to look back and say I did exciting things and…