I’m Going To Miss Things.

I’m Going To Miss Things.

Image: Werner Kunz

I leave for Asia three weeks from today.  I’m incredibly excited, freaked out about earning enough money on the road, and overwhelmed at the things I still need to do!

Being away from October through May is quite a long time — much longer than my four-month semester in Florence.  And while I am thrilled beyond belief to be avoiding another Boston winter, I’m starting to realize that I’m going to be missing quite a bit at home.

The two most obvious things I’m missing are Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But frankly, I don’t care for either of these holidays and would be thrilled at the chance to skip them, so I’m happy about that.

Then there’s Oscar season.  Every year, I try to see as many Oscar-nominated films as possible, read every article about the Oscar nominations, then publish my predictions and enter lots of pools.  I’ll be sorry to miss my tradition this year, but I’m not upset about it.

I’m coming home just in time for my close friend Alexa’s wedding, but I’ll be missing the bridal shower and possibly a Vegas bachelorette party (unless they wait until Memorial Day weekend, when I’ll be home!).  I’ve already promised to Skype in for both.

So I didn’t feel like I was missing many important events at home in Boston.

Then Jon Stewart announced the Rally to Restore Sanity , taking place nine days after I leave for Bangkok.  And it hit me —

I WANT TO GO.  I WANT TO GO.  I WISH I WERE THERE FOR THAT RALLY!!

If I were at home, I’d be flying to DC for the day and storming the mall with all of the other reasonable people of America!  There’s no question that this event is going to be huge, and I’m so sad to be missing it!

I know that this is only the beginning.  As soon as I hit the road, more and more major events will be taking place at home.  Events that are much more important than a rally, and that I’ll be much sorrier to miss.

But considering what I have in exchange — a life of travel, my greatest dream — I think it’s a fair trade.  I might be saying something else further down the line, though.

Long-term travelers, tell me: how do you deal with missing major events for the sake of your travels?

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