# Who believes travelers are born not made?



## PrisMiQue (Sep 23, 2014)

I've been having an emotional and mental battle because I'm perusing a career in the arts but I am a born traveler and can't seem to want to stay put. 
Others/ housies oogles yuppies whatever u want to identify them as , just want to go out to vacation once a year or leave town for a week and that's it. Or everything has to be planned out and well that's boring to me. 
I want to see what u guys think, do u agree that true travelers are born not made over time?
Do u think travelers really have a choice ? 
Or am I just crazy delirious?


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## PrisMiQue (Sep 23, 2014)

Okay This is my first thread and I realize I put it in the wrong category. Whatevs.


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## wizehop (Sep 23, 2014)

I think it can go both ways. Some people have a natural wanderlust and are destined to roam, and with others, events in their life are the catalyst for leaving. The world and the people who live on it are complex, so I don't think its a black or white kind of thing. Most people however they feel inside are raised to live a certain way, such as working all year in a cubicle only to take one week off at some all inclusive resort. Deep down its not what they want, its just what they have been programmed to believe life is and dont have the strength to go against the grain.
That being said, I don't think there is a right or wrong way to live as long as your being true to yourself. Some people really are happy living life in the machine, while at the same time some kids pretend to be something they are not. Its funny because a lot of "traveller kids" are anti authority, yet still submit to someone else's idea of what that is. They dress the same, act the same, talk the same, listen to the same music, and so forth. Its funny to see kids put down the working class for being drones when they themselves are no different. So freedom on a true scale is a complex illusion most people cant grasp if they tried.
If your really destined to roam the globe, it wouldn't hurt to take a year or two and learn the skills that can bring you the freedom you want in order to support yourself for the rest of your time here on earth. Don't make the same mistake most people make and think that by not participating in anything associated with the "machine" is the only kind of freedom. You will loose out on much more in the long run and you'll be stuck and bitter.


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## Cirno9 (Sep 23, 2014)

You summed that up very well Wizehop. I myself have not been "born" a traveler, I grew up in a very poor and impoverished part of town but I was just as sheltered as anyone else and never got to "taste life" staying inside all the time and when I came of age I became a legitimate NEET and hikkikomori for 3 years aka never leaving the house for anything. The only taste of freedom I ever got was escaping this home for the mental/angry kids when I was 13. Then I became homeless as a direct cause of my -choice through familiarity- way of life and decided there was no easy way out of this. It soon after became an opportunity instead of something totally dreadful. I decided after I learn to survive with nothing in Seattle id do it in other places in the country as well, "if I can be homeless in Seattle I can be homeless anywhere". Unfortunately Seattle is an easy place to be homeless in other places are harder comparatively but this didn't kill my curiosity or the challenge of getting the fuck back out there. I will admit the first time I started doing this I called my family a lot and once convinced them to send me $100 but after the first time I decided never to do that again and I have not no matter how shit I was at this. Plus my family said they would never talk to me again if they found out I left Seattle again so I couldn't even -if- I wanted, to rely on them. I still go out, I still try, dont tell me what I am doing which is trying to see the world is any less important to me as it is to you or that my experiences and stories I gain are somehow not as good as yours because I fell into the life rather than have "been born with the notion to GO". I salute anyone that goes out of their comfort zone to go to places that are totally new to them all for the sake of "I want to see what else is out there" for extended periods of time. Since I have been traveling I come back to seattle for work (like a week or two? I wish it were longer) and maybe just take a bus out to the east (I am not so good at the trains pls teach) and from there take in everything that is different to me and come out of it a little bit better. As decartes once said "I at length resolved to make myself an object of study, and to employ all the powers of my mind in choosing the paths I ought to follow; an undertaking_* which was accompanied with greater success than it would have been had I never quitted my country*_ or my books."


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## Kim Chee (Sep 23, 2014)

I think I had traveling in me early on. I once headed out the front door in diapers when I was a toddler and my mom called the cops (who brought me home soon afterward). I loved being outside and would head out into nature when I was only 5. The ticks, chiggers, leeches, water moccasins and copperheads didn't slow me down at all. There was another world outside of home, I was fascinated by it and my mom appreciated not having me running all over the house. I am the product of lazy parenting, but it worked out alright I guess. Although I haven't been traveling much lately, it took many years for the wanderlust to subside a bit. Now if only I could find a way to be paid and travel...I'd be set.

Traveler blood...kind of reminds me of Charlie Sheen's tiger blood.


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## PrisMiQue (Sep 23, 2014)

wizehop said:


> I think it can go both ways. Some people have a natural wanderlust and are destined to roam, and with others, events in their life are the catalyst for leaving. The world and the people who live on it are complex, so I don't think its a black or white kind of thing. Most people however they feel inside are raised to live a certain way, such as working all year in a cubicle only to take one week off at some all inclusive resort. Deep down its not what they want, its just what they have been programmed to believe life is and dont have the strength to go against the grain.
> That being said, I don't think there is a right or wrong way to live as long as your being true to yourself. Some people really are happy living life in the machine, while at the same time some kids pretend to be something they are not. Its funny because a lot of "traveller kids" are anti authority, yet still submit to someone else's idea of what that is. They dress the same, act the same, talk the same, listen to the same music, and so forth. Its funny to see kids put down the working class for being drones when they themselves are no different. So freedom on a true scale is a complex illusion most people cant grasp if they tried.
> If your really destined to roam the globe, it wouldn't hurt to take a year or two and learn the skills that can bring you the freedom you want in order to support yourself for the rest of your time here on earth. Don't make the same mistake most people make and think that by not participating in anything associated with the "machine" is the only kind of freedom. You will loose out on much more in the long run and you'll be stuck and bitter.


the strong urge to be up n about and the love of art and getting somewhere with it are two things that need to be balanced. I just feel as though whatever happens I will always be that dirty lil traveler inside and there is no dening it. I can dress different, smell diff. And live diff. But eventually will show my true natural sense of exploration. I am who I am and There is no reason for me to feel weird about it, cuz I know you guys get me.
I'm not a freak cuz I like hanging with crusties vs yuppies. Well maybe I'm still a freak regardless!! Hehe


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## Tude (Sep 23, 2014)

PrettyMissQueen said:


> Okay This is my first thread and I realize I put it in the wrong category. Whatevs.



Nahhhh yer all fixed.


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## Dameon (Sep 23, 2014)

The old question of nature vs. nurture...

I think it's a mix. Some people are definitely more inclined to wander, but most of those need either an alternative upbringing or some sort of catalyst to get them out on the road.


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## Matt Derrick (Sep 23, 2014)

wizehop said:


> Don't make the same mistake most people make and think that by not participating in anything associated with the "machine" is the only kind of freedom. You will loose out on much more in the long run and you'll be stuck and bitter.



Dude, very good advice. I didn't quite concentrate enough on learning the kind of skills that would keep me traveling until now, and I feel like I'm playing catch up quite a bit right now, which is why i'm taking some time off from the road for the next two years. I don't think this is as much of the 'not participating in society' thing as it was that i've always been a late bloomer and didn't know what i wanted to do with my life until i was _well _out of college.

but yeah, 'not participating' in society isn't the answer, it's participating in the alternatives that are important.


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## creature (Sep 23, 2014)

You know.. traveling & creativity are probably both strongly related..
exploration, discovery, curiosity...

if the question is how to do one without sacrificing others, the answer, really, is how do you use each to accomplish their compliments..
at the same time it's probably very true that some can be more strongly emphasized than others..

if traveling is a method of discovery & enlightenment, so can be study & material creativity..
take a look at the scope of arts.. i mean, it's just astounding, and a person can spend far more of their life, with perfect validity, 
composing, inventing, painting, playing or what have you
in creative capacity
& be just as strong an explorer as one who travels from pole to pole..

traveling is a *method*..

there's nothing that makes a traveler existentially or morally more valid than a stay at home mom, or a father who works a desk job for 25 years to care for his family, or a mechanic who stays in the same town because he has more of a sense of community than of adventure..

some people travel to avoid the complications or conditions of life demanded by civilization..
some travel to explore & see & experience..
some travel to acquire knowledge..

some do all those & more..

in each case, though, traveling is a means to something..

the real question is what is your existence aimed at?

traveling can be (and often is) used as a means to avoid & escape what are otherwise reasonable responsibilities..
(yeah, i know.. "responsibility" can be a dirty, creepy word, but there's a point at people either throw down or are shits..)

sooo.. traveling doesn't really *cause* anything, unless you approach it as a tool to accomplish something more important..

every morning on every mountain can be an "ooohhhh & ahhhh...", but if you can't be fair to people & help folks when the call is there, it's wasted beauty.

rainbows, empty cathedrals, broken pipelines, abandoned lighthouses, 300' waterfalls, desert stars & oceans enraged mean *nothing* if they are all you want.

the real point of traveling, like most valid existence, is to make what is external & internal to yourself a single entity, and the way that that is acomplished is through humility.. that's why it doesn't matter *how* you do it, it just matters *what* you do it for...

you love to volunteer for the blind?
go you.. you are climbing everest..

you want to help the poor in west africa? (& yeah.. see my passport..)
cool..

you help out at schools with computer stuff?
then your stroll from your house to the door is 3,000 miles long..

travelers are not an elite.

people who help other people are an elite..

if what you want, by traveling, is just to go places & ooohh & ahhh, then you won't find any merging between your passions, because beneath them the crucial passion is missing.. the one to be usefull..

if you're a rolling carpenter & you do good work, & having your wheels gives you joy & makes your work better, then you are using traveling correctly.

if you are a photographer & you create scenarios of learning & beauty & convey adventure which share meaning, then there you go..

if you are some technical geek, going from gig to gig & you help out folks as best you can, guess what? yer there..

if you just jump freights or thumb or bike or whatever, but share your food when you have it, don't steal & don't seriously flake on promises.. same thing.


the thing that we are born with, generally, is the ability to choose..
to either be good & kind or to not really give a shit..

that choice generally (so far as i can tell) comes pretty damn early in life..
i will tell you, from my experience, that most people who travel..& travel *well* are from the "good & kind" camp..
the ones who don't travel well generally just do a lot wishfull thinking (& *they* are the ones to be carefull of, since they are invariably bullshit masters..)

i don't think you can really travel & take from it all it has to offer *without* being in the G&K camp..
sooo.. i tend to believe at least the prerequisite to travel is *chosen*.. 

some people may just be born shits.. maybe .. i dunno.. i know most shitty people have reasons for being shitty, generally stemming from childhood..
also, some folks are born with certain predilections.. some kids are really, really, really good at math, or art, or mechanics or language..
i think if your allowed to explore those potentials as a kid, & if you've decided to be good instead of a shit, that traveling & exploration & curiosity & inventiveness & other energies will come to you naturally, but you have to be *nurtured* for those potentials to emerge with strength..

so there you go..

if the question is can you do art & travel together, or must leave one behind for the other, know what you desire most, and then turn those desires into tools.

J


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## spectacular (Sep 23, 2014)

who knows really.. i knew from an early age that i didn't like the daily grind and it's shaped my life to be what i am now, a traveler. i think it's a combination of choices and preferences. depending on what's important to you and what you want to carry with you and the connections you make, you can shape a career while being on the move. i think the key is to deconstruct and then start small, build from there and you never really know


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## CelticWanderer (Nov 14, 2014)

I was defiantly born a traveler, didn't help that my dad was military so we did alot of that. I get wanderlust real bad for no reason alot. Its like my gut tenses up and I can't sleep and my mind races about all the stuff out there. I'm sacrificing everything for another trip on the road, I can't stay put. It's bad for me soul.


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## PrisMiQue (Nov 14, 2014)

CelticWanderer said:


> I was defiantly born a traveler, didn't help that my dad was military so we did alot of that. I get wanderlust real bad for no reason alot. Its like my gut tenses up and I can't sleep and my mind races about all the stuff out there. I'm sacrificing everything for another trip on the road, I can't stay put. It's bad for me soul.



I used to be more impulsive when I was younger. I would get that feeling ur talking about restless and mind racing. Itch too leave and I would just take off with out any notice and be free. Now that I'm older it's not as easy for me cuz of my legal issues but I'm almost done with that. 

I love just getting into a new area to explore and make new friends. I miss it, I've been in the same place for too long and it isn't like me so I feel like not myself. Omg! Now I know why I've been feeling like I need to clear my head. I haven't been traveling and like u said not good for my soul. Like I'm getting Consumed in the yuppiness lol


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## Kal (Nov 14, 2014)

I don't know if I was born to travel, the people who raise me didn't travel but when I started to travel in the 90s I just couldn't stop and I have tried to stay in one place but I can't. So I think once traveling get's into your blood that's who you become. I have met a lot of artist on the road who are really talented so I don't see why you couldn't do both travel and be an artist.


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## CelticWanderer (Nov 14, 2014)

PrettyMissQueen said:


> I used to be more impulsive when I was younger. I would get that feeling ur talking about restless and mind racing. Itch too leave and I would just take off with out any notice and be free. Now that I'm older it's not as easy for me cuz of my legal issues but I'm almost done with that.
> 
> I love just getting into a new area to explore and make new friends. I miss it, I've been in the same place for too long and it isn't like me so I feel like not myself. Omg! Now I know why I've been feeling like I need to clear my head. I haven't been traveling and like u said not good for my soul. Like I'm getting Consumed in the yuppiness lol


For real. I get into really deep depressions and really the only thing that gets me out is just being in the woods for a while at least. When you're out there nothing matters but the sound of the forest and keeping yourself alive.


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## daveycrockett (Nov 14, 2014)

from the original post read quickly....i believe people who travel are either lazy and drift or are more intelligent than most and see what life is about OR could be forced into a position that they cant get out of and have to dwell in and or get out of in their own personal interest...western civilization doesnt fit everyone... youre in southern california so it fits...to say in the US people are born that dont always conform...self preservation etc..walls are put up around you to teach you what others want for control... message back for detailed and more intricate explanations..please.....if not...well then......idk. hope ya get it what im sayin


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## daveycrockett (Nov 14, 2014)

whats up with your pic btw...miss queenieeeeeeee::snaphappy::


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## PrisMiQue (Dec 4, 2014)

daveycrockett said:


> whats up with your pic btw...miss queenieeeeeeee::snaphappy::


Haha probably change it again soon.


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## kaichulita (Dec 4, 2014)

I have thought about whether or not I would be able to travel and continue a potential career in the arts as well... I love both traveling and creating art, so I have decided that I will somehow make it work. The way I see it, if there is a will, there is a way! I plan to bring some paint supplies with me to paint on whatever surfaces I have available and mail my art back home while on the road. It sounds a little silly, but so far that's the best idea I could come up with. You could also bring a sketchbook or an instrument if you like to make music. Don't let traveling take away from your other passions! 

As for being born a traveler or not... I think that is fundamentally a nature vs. nurture debate. I believe it's a little bit of both. Some people never dream of living a traveler's lifestyle, but because their situation placed them in one, they have grown to love traveling. Others have a strong predisposition to having the desire to travel, but society might "nurture" them into thinking that it's unrealistic to have a traveler lifestyle. I think that I have that "nature" of a traveler, but have been "nurtured" into thinking that it's too dangerous/unrealistic/irresponsible/etc. However, I am breaking away from the mental confines that society has created for me and saying fuck it, I'm going to make it happen.


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## Kal (Dec 4, 2014)

PrettyMissQueen said:


> Haha probably change it again soon.





PrettyMissQueen said:


> Haha probably change it again soon.


Beautiful pic, why change it?


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## Anagor (Dec 4, 2014)

Difficult question to answer. I don't know. 

But I think travelers are born. Okay it's not black or white, of course.

When I think about myself ... I had my first experiences traveling at age of 40 in September this year. No kidding. Did a backpacking trip to UK/Ireland. Slept at hostels, traveling by coaches. Before I was in Vienna 20 years ago and in Utrecht (NL) a year ago - work related. Nothing else.

Two incidents came together: I was unsatisfied with my job (being a full time employee and not a freelancer as I was before) and watching train hopping documentaries on youtube. 

Don't want to train hop right now. But it got me to read other sites, reddit subreddits, blogs, forum like StP ...  So I came here ...

Why I think travelers are born: when I think about myself I think I was like a traveler even while I wasn't traveling.

To describe the opposite of me: a guy wanting to have career, making much money. A guy used to have three meals per day and becoming angry if dinner is at 2pm instead of 1pm. A guy who needs 1-2 showers a day. A guy who needs to chill at the couch watching TV to get into the comfortable bed afterwards.

I don't care about money, I do care that I like what I do. Career is not for me. Sometimes I feel a bit weak and then I realize I haven't eaten today and not the day before. Time to get food. I'm fine to have a shower once per week and wash my head and hand only once per day. I don't need to chill at a couch.

I always liked to be outside, strolling the streets, having a coffee here or there, meeting people I know.

Often I slept just on my couch cause I wouldn't care to undress and sleep in my bed.

And as of summer this year I like to sleep outside with just a sleeping bag and a pad in front of out house. 

Did that for the last two days (about 0°C here). Need to add some cardboard as insulation btw. But other than that it's fine. 

Okay, to make my point:
I think I was always like a traveler. Freedom, Chaos, and alike. But I was always hindered by anxiety (yes, in my 20s), circumstances, responsibilities I felt bound to and alike.

Did my first trip a month ago and I'm looking forward to do my next in January. This time sleeping rough, hitchhiking and trying to find food dumpster diving. 

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers!


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## kidbob (Dec 4, 2014)

I AM A TRAVELER...
I TRAVELED the cosmos till my parents MADE the VESSAL that allowed me to TRAVEL from the womb.now in this life i travel and when i die ill be travlin....


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