My Travels Have Finished, So What Next?

Hi there!

My name is Mark, I live in the UK and returned from travel a few weeks ago. I had an incredible trip, and met some amazing people.

It started in an airport...

The last of these amazing people was a guy named Maxfield, who struck up a conversation with me trying to figure out where was the best place to smoke a cigarette in Moscow airport (he eventually chose the men's toilets, with satisfactory results). This conversation actually ended up lasting six hours. He was just returning from an almost year long work placement in Beijing and had the most fascinating and open outlook on life. The conversation veered through a myriad of topics like Austrian economics, astro-theology, spiritual awakenings, relationships and accumulating numerous tiny vials of toothpaste by partying in Chinese hotels. It was in this conversation that I first learned of Steem.

I was inspired by the notion of value being driven by our beliefs, and the way this extends to monetary value from a practical perspective. Fiat currency is the perfect example of this. But moreso, I loved the idea of how this can extend to a community that can influence and support each other, and that those who create meaningful and useful content can be rewarded for that. I want to contribute, and so I am here to share my experience of assimilating back into a life and routine after having returned from travel.

We see a lot of content, from friends, influencers or otherwise, sharing their experiences whilst travelling or reminiscing about incidents that occurred after the fact. I will now be posting about what it has been like for me coming home, and all of the events and milestones that coincide with this. This will include but not be limited to things like reconnecting with friends and family... finding somewhere to live.... getting a job... getting a haircut... reintegrating... The inevitable cloak that surrounds "coming home" that most of us have wear upon our return. But more importantly, I want to maintain that sense of space I created in my life by living it the way I have in recent times; to reflect more and to do something interesting for the fun of it.

"It must suck being home?"

I think it's easy to fall into a trap of being bummed out when your travels end, but this is not a foregone conclusion, it does not have to happen. I recall reading an article "The Hardest Part Of Traveling No One Talks About" espousing how difficult this can be, the struggle of contending with how you've changed and nothing else at home has. I found this to be fodder for the sort of people who expect to "find themselves" while travelling; it attaches too much significance to oneself, as opposed to one's capacity to appreciate.

And so, I will share my capacity to appreciate, and my gratitude for being lucky enough to experience all that I have so far, the most recent significant thing being this period of travel. I know it's not all going to be rosy, but that's fine! I'd like to think I can bring a lot of what I have learned into this next chapter of my life, and I look forward to sharing this with you and to learning from you as well.

As a sidenote, I'm very new to this, so if you can recommend anywhere else to share this content I'd be very grateful :)