The “Yeah-but”.

It has been just over 24 hours since I was on plane last. I spent 10 days in the beautiful T&T. Trinidad and Tobago. It felt good to check that one off my list ..  Another new place I discovered! My boyfriend, Kenny, is half Trinidadian, so a lot of his family still live in Trinidad. We spent the first half of the vacation in Carnival, the Mardi Gras of Trinidad. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. The costumes were out of this world .. headpieces, and next to nothing. The second half of our trip was in Tobago, where we did lots of snorkeling, diving, relaxing.

Like I said, it was great to check another place off my ever-growing bucket list. A week before Trinidad, I spent 6 days in Florida with my family. An annual trip where I get to spend a week with my mother and grandmother. This year, my brother came too.. even better!
Basically, I have been retired for the last month. Living day by day, next the ocean. It was paradise. I forgot for a while what it was like to live out of a suitcase. But I quickly remembered that I don’t mind it at all. Its rejuvenating.. to have very little with you. Very little “things” .. to have, to do, to think about.

We arrived home Monday, and by Tuesday afternoon I had already booked us on another flight. Some say I have a problem, but I don’t disagree. People comment all the time about wishing they traveled more .. wishing they explored more. When I ask them why they don’t, this is the answer I get .. “Yeah, but..”

Yeah, but I have a dog.
Yeah, but I shouldn’t be spending right now.
Yeah, but what about my job?
Yeah, but I have so much debt.

Listen. We all have a job. We all have responsibilities. We all have a budget. We all have comfort in our routines at home. Eat, Sleep, Work. Please, I challenge you all the SQUASH the “Yeah, but..”. It doesn’t get you anywhere. “Yeah, but..” puts  a stop to anything you dream of. It limits your thought process, and ultimately your life.
Don’t get me wrong, ALWAYS keep an emergency fund. BE responsible. But, come on. Live a little. You CAN do both. Take a leave of absence. Take two weeks off. Put your student debt on the back burner. We all have it. It will still be there when you get back. It will still be there while you spend years repaying it. Don’t worry about it. Instead, travel. Why? Because traveling is liberating. You don’t want to be the person that “waited” to travel. Wait for what? The perfect $ amount? Because that magic number will just keep growing. Wait for what? Until you are retired? You won’t be backpacking and slumming it at 60. Travel now, because RIGHT NOW is the time when you’re life is still all about you. Travel now, because when you have a mortgage, a car, a few children – your priorities change drastically.

Don’t look back on your life with “What if’s”. It really isn’t hard. Just, do it. Book a flight. Go. Explore. Discover. Learn. Be compassionate. See the way other people live life every day. Experience. Watch. Grow. It will be the best thing you ever did.

‘Till Next Time.

– T.