Guest Post #1

Travel. The idea is often bandied about in millennial parlance as something “you have to do” and something that “fulfills you” so it’s always such a nagging concept in your head. Then you hear that one of your closest friends is on a trip so you go and say that you’ll meet him in a country that you’re only aware of because you’ve eaten food from there (read: street meat) and have read about its socioeconomic problems but in fact have no idea about the type of culture that exists in such a far away place. So you vacillate on the idea, weigh the options of going versus not going. Not going means comfort zone (in a new[ish] city, mind you). Not going means you stay in a place you know and (are getting to know) but don’t have the need to put on a façade of someone who’s adventurous (yet, let's be aware that we all put on some type of mask that allows us to maintain what we think is the “ideal” personality, yet when the mask slips off we realize that it’s not our ideal personality but the personality that we think other people expect from us, which quickly crumbles when you’re confronted with a new country and a new culture and new experiences that require you to be open to all of it in order to fully embrace this new opportunity). Going means that you’re in a new place. You’re in a new culture. You’re surrounded and are a foreigner in a place that doesn’t have to like you, but one that expects you to like it. And you’ve never been the foreigner before, just the “out-of-towner.” And you hear stories about how other cultures aren't like where you’re from, how the people can take advantage of you and how you might not like what you see or how the people you meet might not like you for where you’re from. And all of that weighs on you as you begin to pack a bag because you’ve already committed to the trip so there’s no turning back (unless you have some medical emergency), and so the nerves emerge. And but so you continue to pack and tell people about where you’re going in the hopes that this ethereal idea will come to be and you’ll not only enjoy the trip, but will learn something and gain a valuable perspective on what it means to be an adult in this day and age and what it means to experience (and nigh fully immerse yourself in) another culture with no preconceptions, save for those that you have about what it means to be from your owncountry. And so you’re moving now. You’ve packed and expelled any ideas about backing out of the trip and now the train is moving in the direction of the airport. So here you find yourself on the train moving towards an airport for a flight you’re not 100% sure is real (the deal seemed to be too good, mind you) but it’s too late now and you surely don’t want to miss said flight—the good deal was, after all, not cheap—so you continue moving forward, burying yourself in the music you’ve been listening to for weeks now as a means of burying yourself in your comfort zone so that you can calm the nerves and quiet the trepidation because this is the first time you’ve done a trip like this, while simultaneously reminding yourself that the friend you’re meeting is doing something three orders of magnitude more demanding—mentally, financially, and emotionally—than you so you need to grow up and just allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling but also allow yourself to feel some excitement about the incipient adventure you’re undertaking so that you don’t ruin anybody’s trip (God forbid, don’t be that guy). And so but so you’re still moving forward, still wondering what’s going to be involved in such a trip, still worrying that you’re going to fuck something up and forget a passport or cash or an ID or pack purported pernicious personal property that will have you detained (not the case) or that possibly when you land you’ll end up in some even more foreign land alone and have no idea what to do (keep in mind the inherent fear of doing so in your current destination) and will regret everything and realize that you’ve made a mistake and you’re not the type of person to commit to such an idea like “travel” and are better served staying home and safe and in your insular bubble with your friends that you know so you don’t have to take the risk. But so it’s all too late for that now because the train has stopped moving and you’re now in a cab en route to the airport so now you’re wondering if you’re too late and you’re going to miss the flight and so you worry that you’ve just wasted money and thus feel irresponsible and but so you’re wrong because you get to customs and you’re checked in and realize that you’re traveling internationally and know that you have to take your shoes off so you feel a sense of confidence because it’s “not your first time at the rodeo” (as was said to the TSA agent who clearly had better things to do at 10:45 P.M.) so you decide to get a drink and realize that all of your fears have been assuaged when you hear the one, single, beautiful, iron-clad announcement that says “now boarding all passengers for E******s Airlines to Athens, Greece” and you realize that you’re about to go on one of the most exciting trips of your life.