Travelling Sucks.

Travelling is overrated. This is not an opinion I have always held, rather one that I have developed throughout my travel experiences. I would like to preface this by saying, I do not want to come off as ungrateful for the opportunities I have been granted, but more of a critique regarding the idea that you have to travel to be a well-rounded person. I hope that this blog entry can be encouraging for people who may be trying to come to terms with the idea that they may not be able to travel everywhere they want, or even regret that they didn’t travel more when they were younger.

The first matter to get out of the way is that travelling and vacationing are different. In my opinion, you have to be more wary of your budget when travelling. There are many inconveniences about the idea of travelling, and when I am constantly concerned about not going over my budget, I find it hard to relax. This doesn’t even begin to touch on all the other grievances I have with travel. I always feel I can’t relax when I am constantly thinking about not getting pick-pocketed in London or when I am afraid of accidentally doing something rude in Tokyo.

I feel like when critiquing travel, no one ever brings up how the actual act of travelling is overstimulating. The rules of TSA are constantly changing. Do I take off my shoes or not?! The security is always yelling, and let us face it: airport food is expensive and not that good. Of course, I end up in economy, because I don’t have money for a business class or first class ticket. The blood is pooling in my feet by the fifth hour, and why is there always a baby crying or an adult coughing?

I feel like it is also rarely touched on that the internet has ruined travel. Why would I want to go see the Eiffel Tower when I could just look up a picture of it on Google? I used to think I wanted to visit Paris, but when I sat down and genuinely thought about it, I have no true interest in going. I feel like the internet tells us we want to go see these places and people never question it. I think back in the day, when cameras and the internet weren't invented, travelling might have been different. One could genuinely explore new cultures. Nowadays, it is all about the Instagram photo and checking off a list of things you found online.

Every time I travel, I find myself getting sick. When I went to New York, I got sick on the way home. When I went to Michigan, I got sick in the middle of the trip. Lastly, when I went on my first solo trip to Japan, I developed a fever of 103 degrees a week before I was set to fly out. When I researched why this happens, it said it can be due to a combination of stress and the immune system being exposed to new germs and bacteria. While there are ways to prevent it, at the end of the day, it does get annoying.

Travelling is not accessible to the average person with any disabilities or chronic illnesses. I have always felt long-term travel is out of the question for me, as I have to take a pill every single morning, and most pharmacies only give me a three-month supply. While my chronic illness is on the easier end of the spectrum, I can’t even begin to grasp how hard travel must be for people with physical disabilities that require being in a wheelchair. I once saw a video of a travel influencer saying that travel is accessible to everyone, but most people aren’t willing to make the sacrifices it takes. He then proceeded to say he eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch. Firstly, it’s okay if one doesn’t want to sacrifice their health in that way. Secondly, I much prefer having a readily available toilet and shower, so if that means I don’t have to sleep with bugs on the ground at night, I will cope.

One of my biggest complaints about travelling is how bad it is for the environment. While it is the fault of billionaires who take a 5-minute private jet ride somewhere, I would like to be more environmentally aware of my carbon footprint. In the old days, travelling wasn’t a thing so easily accessible to the public. We would pick a place to settle down, and that is where we would spend the rest of our lives. In this day and age of social media, travelling is so often romanticised that people forget that anything in overabundance can be bad for you. I have come to my own conclusion that most people I see who seem to have visited every corner of the earth seem to use travelling as a form of escapism. This can be detrimental when you start to run away from your problems.

In conclusion, the idea that you have to travel to be able to learn, grow, and find yourself is bogus. I have met some pretty amazing people throughout my life who have never been anywhere. This isn’t to say travelling is inherently bad, or that I am never going to travel again in my life, but more of a way to de-influence this culture that travelling is all good. We have reached a tipping point in American culture where we are starting to become aware of the damages of consumerism, and constantly embolden the idea of memories over material possessions. Just like how we can’t take material things with us to the grave, we also won’t remember memories because we will be dead. Have we really just traded the matchas and labubus for fridge magnets and keychains? Why can't there be a healthy balance? I leave you with this question: "Do you really want to travel there, or do you want people to see you did?"