"What is a word worth"

Wanderlust

Often it comes at random, this feeling called wanderlust, on an unbelievably ordinary day. I’m experiencing the kind of day that goes by and you can’t remember what exactly you did, or what you learned, or how you felt. Somehow, I just find myself looking out the car window, wondering what’s beyond the bend, and what it would be like if I just left. I don’t act out on it, it’s just a passing thought, and I’ll forget about it quickly, but it’s there. That’s what wanderlust is. 

Realistically speaking, wanderlust is just a thought, or a strong desire to travel. The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902, used to describe the German’s tendency for wandering. That, mixed with the custom of the “Wanderbird”, or seeking unity with nature, combined to describe the feeling we now know as Wanderlust.

I sit in my bed so tired of living life the same way everyday, doing the same things, and having the same conversations. Every night I contemplate leaving, maybe across the world to Europe, or maybe just across the country to Washington. What would it be like? Who would I meet? Would it make me happy, or would I just fall into another routine? 

Wanderlust often just reflects how one may feel at home. Usually individuals may reflect an intense want to grow as a person and aim to achieve this by experiencing the unknown, new challenges, or getting to know unfamiliar cultures, ways of life and behaviours. Others may desire to travel due to negative experiences and feelings such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or even just strong feelings of guilt or uneasiness.

I know someday I will act upon this feeling called wanderlust. I want to travel to faraway places and forget my past and create a future. I love this feeling, and I hate this feeling. But I continue to look out the car windows, and imagine new places.