I’ve decided to put together a list of people who have inspired me to travel by doing it themselves. There have been many times since I first stepped on the plane that I have wondered how I’m going to do this. The first couple of weeks, we were in a hotel room and it didn’t feel right. I didn’t like going to museums all the time, and I didn’t like doing touristy things. I don’t want to feel like I’m on an extended vacation, I want to feel like I’m actually traveling, making it my life for the time being.

Most of the time I spend online now is looking up stories of people who have traveled, or who are traveling. The biggest thing I have learned so far is that you can make all the plans in the world, but they will almost never work out the way you imagined. Sometimes, that’s for the best. Rory and I were hesitant about making the tentative itinerary outlined in the last post, since we know it’s not going to happen like that.

When I start to doubt myself, I look at the following people. I take in how they travel, what they have done, and how they got there. Then I keep it in my mind as I look for a way that suits me.

Matt, of the famous dancing videos. This is his latest one, linked everywhere on the web, and still just as heartwarming on the 100th watch as the 1st:

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

The Lost Girls, “Three twenty-something New Yorkers who ditched their media jobs to embark on a yearlong, round-the-world journey in search of adventure and inspiration.” Most of the people I read about who travel, travel alone. Reading their story made me feel like it was ok to brave the world with a friend (well, former friend. Now boyfriend. Funny how things work out).

Gala Darling went from Australia to New York City for a few months. She explains it here, and she’s where I got the idea of subletting from. I look through her New York posts for when I think I’ll be in an area for an extended amount of time and a little less nomadic, such as if/when we arrive in London (possibly).

And, of course there are the wonderful stories posted on travelblogs, worldnomads and lonelyplanet. I will count myself incredibly lucky if I have even a fraction of those experiences. Secretly, I’m a little afraid of falling in love with traveling and never being able to come back to a sedentary life. I’m also kind of looking forward to it, if it does happen.