Home

When thinking about “home” where do you think of? We all have different places we call
home and what it means to us. Traveling may not be for everyone and I have wondered what it is
like for people who do travel the world and if they ever get homesick. I also think about if they
even have a place they call home. I looked and read through the blogs Lost with Purpose, Sailing
Totem, and Inside the Travel Lab, and found many similarities among these writers when it
comes to the idea of “home.” They each wrote about the difficulty in being away from their
homes and loved ones.
The article that caught my attention from Lost with Purpose was called “The most
difficult part of long-term travel.” In this article, Alex says the most difficult part of long-term
travel is the struggle to keep up with those left behind. When thinking about traveling, I am sure
one thinks about leaving their family, but maybe they only have plans to be gone a short while.
In reality, a short while may turn into years. Alex talks about how there are apps to keep in
contact with friends and family, but sometimes when something tragic happens, it is hard to
contact those loved ones. She says how she had to console a close friend that had just broken up
with her boyfriend through Facebook Messenger. This was not face-to-face like she would have
wanted it to be. She also tried to Skype with her grandfather, but he does not understand the
concept of video calling—he thinks Alex is just a photo. She gives a third example by explaining
how her best friend’s mother was dying and she could only send her consolatory Whatapps due
to the terrible reception. These examples do not show any sincerity, not like how face-to-face
communication would. Alex says she is lucky to have a smartphone, but it does not always do
her well because she still has to pay the bills for the data. Traveling with a cellphone can be
difficult too because service is not great everywhere and international calling is expensive. This
shows how media is not always reliable and that when traveling, you have to realize you are
leaving the ones you love behind. In Alex’s case, she enjoys traveling and is fine with contacting
her loved ones every once in a while.
While reading through the blog Sailing Totem, I came across an article titled, “It’s time to
go home.” This title intrigued me because I wanted to know when travelers think it is the right
time to go home. The author of this blog, Bohen, explains how one of the hardest parts of
cruising for her and her family is being far away from the people they love. This is similar to
what Alex says is the most difficult part of travel as well. Bohen says it is especially hard to be
far away and during those times of need because they cannot be present with support. She also
says how she misses sharing everyday experiences such as the laughs and events that build
memories. I can definitely see how this is hard because many people might be used to seeing
their family members often. When one is traveling, they might not be able to see loved ones as
much as they would like to. Bohen goes into detail about their big road trip they went on and
how their family spent time with her husband’s aunt and uncle. She expresses how precious their
time together was and loved the chance they had to build memories together. The family then
decided it was time to head back to the United States to see other family members since they
have been cruising for so long. Cruising is their life and they do not plan on stopping, but they do
miss their family dearly. This family of 5 shows how one does not have to delay or stop their
dreams because of homesickness. They make the time to travel home and visit family when they
feel the time is right.
 Inside the Travel Lab was the last blog I looked through and found an article titled,
“What is home, anyway?” This blog is written by Abi King, who has the luxury of traveling. She
begins this article by asking “Just what is home? And is it up to us to define it?” This question
made me think about where I consider home to be and what it means to me. Abi continues by
explaining how home has an emotional meaning. She says that during this week of writing the
blog she was supposed to be traveling, but she was sick and stayed home. I took this as her being
homesick. “Much is written about the power of travel, about how new places, people and
experiences light up our senses and stimulate our minds. Little is written about those other two
words. Sickness. And home.” Abi writes this and I could not agree more with it. I have read quite
a few blogs on travel and most of them write about all their wonderful experiences, but lack the
concept of homesickness. Everyone is different—not everyone might feel homesick, but I think
it is important to address this topic especially for those who are wanting to travel or who are on
the road of travel. Abi also writes about how when writers get sick, it is much harder for them to
write and how sickness on the road focuses on survival. This means that one feels the need to
reach somewhere safe and the desire to go home. We have different perceptions about home and
some might long to reach that home while traveling. Home might as well be wherever one
travels to. This leads to my question of does one need a home to feel safe?
These three blogs have many similarities in that many people have an appreciation
towards their home and feel homesick while traveling. I thought about the beginning of the year
when we discussed perception while reading these blogs. Perception is when one becomes aware
of something through their senses. Everyone perceives “home” as something different and it can
be any place or many places in the world. The writers of these blogs explain their own
experiences with being away from home and give their own perspectives. I think the idea of
“home” is important and should be talked about within many more blogs in order to help others
who might be feeling discouraged when it comes to travel.

https://www.lostwithpurpose.com/difficult-long-term-travel/
https://www.sailingtotem.com/2015/12/its-time-to-go-home.html
https://www.insidethetravellab.com/what-is-home/