That Feeling The Night Before Traveling

7:59 pm

Moments after clicking “purchase” on a pair of roundtrip tickets that marked my next major international trip, I felt butterflies.


Growing up in China, I did not have a lot of opportunities to travel when I was little. Every summer, my grandparents would take me with them on a week-long trip to the ocean. We would stay at a coastal town a few hours away, it was nothing special when I think about it now. But I was so excited every time I got to go on that trip. Every opportunity to get out of the city was an adventure to me. I would stay up on the night before we left for our trip - filled with energy and unable to sleep

30 countries and an entire decade later, I still get that feeling before every major trip - before diving in to an destination unknown to me. I have learned to love the burst of anxiousness that arrives the night before traveling. I do not try to calm myself, rather, I like to cultivate that spark into a longer lasting state of courage, boldness, and utter thrill, as if I'm on the brink of a grandeur discovery. I would chase that feeling to the end of the world.

travel las vegas

I somehow found a camera at 16 and have been taking pictures since.

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10 comments

  1. Scarlett Wonderland16/4/13 8:57 am

    Ahhh I love the travel butterflies you get right before you go! Great post x

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  2. Tana Gandhi16/4/13 7:43 pm

    Couldn't agree more with this post! The anxiety and butterflies felt before each travel makes me actually wayyy more productive--in terms of packing at least. :)

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  3. Tracy Zhang16/4/13 9:35 pm

    haha i'm a last min packer too!

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  4. Tracy Zhang16/4/13 9:35 pm

    thanks Scarlett!

    ReplyDelete
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  6. Chris Pollard17/4/13 11:08 pm

    I've gotta admit I'm a bit different. I tend to feel nothing for the weeks that approach a big trip and am still pretty chilled even when I'm packing the bags. Usually it's when I find myself sitting on a plane when the head begins to spin and I begin thinking here we go again!

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  7. Tracy Zhang19/4/13 9:27 am

    ah that's pretty convenient - i hate not being able to fall asleep the night before because of the excitement

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  8. Angela21/4/13 1:24 am

    I agree. It's part of the addiction to travel, isn't it? Love those butterflies!

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  9. Eytan Levy21/4/13 1:27 am

    Same for me. It's a rush every time. Though I think part of that is that too much time passes between trips and I feel like I forget how to travel all over again...

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  10. icecoldland21/4/13 7:47 am

    enjoy!

    ReplyDelete