Noob with serious wanderlust

[Elliska]

Hello all! I've been dabbling around on Squat the Planet for awhile account-less, so now I've taken initiative to get involved as I can and made a shiny new account, so props to me.
Anywho, as for introducing myself and my outstanding qualities, I don't have much to say. I'm 18, I love to meet new people, I'm in my last semester of high school and more than ready to get the fuck out of the house, seeing as I'm quite the black sheep of the family. Where I am is always where I least want to be, and where I've never been is where I most want to go, so I'm pumped to set out once school is done with. I've always been fascinated by freight hopping and the vagabond lifestyle, so I'm gonna give that a go as soon as possible. I love to read and am always found with my face in a fantasy or science fiction novel, which is a huge contributing factor to me being a chronic daydreamer. My musical talent is poor, but I'm always for discovering music as well as holding to my beloved bands or artists. So yeah, that's all I have to offer for now(subject to editing in case I remember anything else to add...) Along with doing a considerable amount of homework on the topic of freight hopping and all things related, I'll appreciate all the tips and help I can get. I know this site is gonna be fantastic resource in my future travels, so thanks in advance for all the past, present, and future posts!

 

[Matt Derrick]

welcome to the site my friend, you'll find a ton of info here, just be patient and use the search engine (top right)

of course if you have any questions, let us know!

 

[Tick Dickler]

Hello all! I've been dabbling around on Squat the Planet for awhile account-less, so now I've taken initiative to get involved as I can and made a shiny new account, so props to me.
Anywho, as for introducing myself and my outstanding qualities, I don't have much to say. I'm 18, I love to meet new people, I'm in my last semester of high school and more than ready to get the fuck out of the house, seeing as I'm quite the black sheep of the family. Where I am is always where I least want to be, and where I've never been is where I most want to go, so I'm pumped to set out once school is done with. I've always been fascinated by freight hopping and the vagabond lifestyle, so I'm gonna give that a go as soon as possible. I love to read and am always found with my face in a fantasy or science fiction novel, which is a huge contributing factor to me being a chronic daydreamer. My musical talent is poor, but I'm always for discovering music as well as holding to my beloved bands or artists. So yeah, that's all I have to offer for now(subject to editing in case I remember anything else to add...) Along with doing a considerable amount of homework on the topic of freight hopping and all things related, I'll appreciate all the tips and help I can get. I know this site is gonna be fantastic resource in my future travels, so thanks in advance for all the past, present, and future posts!

hmm you sound exactly like me.

 

[johnnymarie]

the only thing i can think to say to you, is that if you find that where you are is always where you least want to be, you'll be sorely disappointed when you end up everywhere else with the same exact feeling, except now you're 1800 miles away from everything you love, and you have hep c.
if you get out there, make sure you call your mom a lot.

 

[Elliska]

I probably should have phrased that differently. I get restless if I'm in one place for too long and there's always somewhere else I want to visit. The fascination is exploring those new places and then moving on. Sure, disappointment is inevitable with such a personality, but I can live with that. But for real, thanks for the concern, I've taken all this into account and am aware that wandering the way I wish to is what I want, and I'm more than anxious to get the hell out of town.

 

[Charlie]

Elliska, if you can't accept the place you're at, no place will ever be good enough. The place doesn't make you content with yourself, you make yourself content with the place. Take it from me, I ran from my problems only to find out I carry my problems in my head. Eventually, I had seen the patterns enough times, at enough places, in different situations, around so many different people, I ran out of things to blame except myself. Then I admitted to a nurse named Phil who I called Dr. Phil (not the tv show guy) "I think I may actually be dealing with depression." I had a long talk with him, and later I returned to his camp a little more level headed, and a potential solution found me.

Traveling can be a beautiful thing, it can also be a really very extremely ugly and painful thing. It's experience, as are many other things. If it's what calls you, then go for it, if you don't, you could spend more time wondering and less time experiencing. While you're out there, you'll rule out the false from the truth, learn who to trust and who not to trust, and you'll change your mind plenty of times (as is a result of our human structures). You'll find the answers that you're looking for. For me, I found my answers a little closer to home instead of on the road, but I had to experience things that only transiency could provide.

I don't know if you'll understand what I'm saying here, most people flat out deny what I say for their own reasons, but I've experienced more than some.

You want to travel? Do it. You'll adapt and learn and you might even like it. Start with a small trip so you can learn the essentials. I could tell you, but I think you might learn from experience. Have a plan to get back home, you wouldn't want to get boot rot because you got stuck somewhere too long. If you're stranded walking on a highway, ambulances make a great but pricey last resort. If you give leave $400 with your folks, then a greyhound ticket from Florida to Washington could be a phone call away.

ALWAYS CALL YOUR MOM AND DAD!!! You don't want them to have a panic attack or worse a heart attack.

The longer you stay away from home, the more home will change.

Oh, and I saw an awesome video on here about how to make an awesome/efficient campstove out of a beer/pop can on here. Look at some of the videos here and read around the forums to get some good ideas for how to prepare yourself.

I hope you found this pep talk useful.

 

[Elliska]

Dude, I fucking love you man. I really appreciate the concern and I've taken what you've said to mind. It's true that a considerably big element of my want to travel is a running away from something, and disappointment is sure to be inevitable. I've never been happy at home due to big worldview differences between me and my parents, and I need to get out, at least for awhile. I do love them, but I need to be away from them.
I also just want to straight up travel in a way that's completely antonymous to the shitty tourist mindset, be able to see America and the world from an obscure angle. I've done my homework on vagabond living and I know it's not gonna be easy, but I won't fully know the extent of that till I've done it myself. Thanks again, your pep talk really was useful.