GETTING BURNT OUT
The real and raw moments..
Getting burnt out from travel happens to all of us, whether it gets talked about on social media or not. Around the beginning of October 2024, I was traveling through Italy the country I had dreamed about for years. My expectations were sky-high and my list of things I wanted to see felt endless. But halfway through the trip, something shifted. I became stressed, overwhelmed, and completely burnt out. I was tired of walking through European cities, tired of visiting church after church until I couldn’t appreciate the meaning behind anything anymore.
Europe wasn’t affordable for me long-term, and I became stressed and obsessive about how much money I was spending. I would skip key activities because I felt like I didn’t deserve to do them. Eventually, I reached a point where I felt mentally paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do. I’m someone who rarely cries, but for three days I was a ball of tears.
My visa was ending, and I needed to leave the EU but I couldn’t even decide where to go. It sounds silly when “the world is your oyster,” but having too many options can be overwhelming. I vividly remember calling my parents asking, “What should I do?” and “Can you just tell me what to do?” For the first time, when I desperately wanted someone to make the choice for me, they said, “This is your life, your choice. What do you want to do?”
At first I was annoyed why wouldn’t they just help me? Looking back, I’m so thankful they didn’t. They could have told me to come home and stop traveling, but they didn’t. They left the choice up to me. Deep down, I knew it was just a rough spot and that the feeling would pass.
That same week, I bit the bullet. I booked the next flight I could find out of Rome to my favorite country: Indonesia. I had been there before; I knew the culture and how everything worked. Part of me was skeptical would it feel the same? How could it ever compare to the first time I visited?
But the month I spent in Indonesia was everything I could have dreamed of and more. I fell in love with travel again. I met some incredible people who lit that spark back inside me. To this day, I still believe it was the best month of travel I have ever had.
Every now and then, I still get a wave of homesickness when everyone goes home for the holidays. But I know now that the wave will pass. It’s okay to feel homesick it happens to the best of us. The feeling is not forever.
#travel #blog #homesick #backpackinglife
YOU ARE WHO YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH
I started traveling so young and even now, I’m only nineteen. One of the biggest lessons I’ve gathered over the last two years is just how deeply the people around you can shape your entire experience. As a full-time traveler, I cycle through countless personalities, energies, and intentions. I’ve met people who fill me with laughter, who make me feel like the truest version of myself. And I’ve met others who make me shrink, who pull me into a shell I’ve worked hard to break out of, who make me question my confidence.
Over time, I’ve learned to prioritize myself. I’ve realized I would rather conserve my energy and eat alone than sit at a table with people who make me uncomfortable. Traveling teaches you quickly that people around the world grow up with wildly different manners, values, and social norms. What one person finds completely acceptable might make someone else’s skin crawl.
When you’ve been on the road as long as I have, there are moments when you get desperate for social connection, especially after a dry spell of not meeting anyone for days. I’ve fallen into that trap agreeing to dinner out of loneliness, only to realize halfway through the meal that I would’ve been happier eating by myself. It’s all part of the learning curve. Part of figuring out who I am and what I need.
And at nineteen, I’m still forming so much of my worldview. I have strong morals about what I believe is right and wrong, but I’m still searching for solid opinions of my own. Most of the people I spend time with are five or six years older than me, with more life experience, sharper beliefs, and louder voices. I listen with open ears but I’m careful, intentional, making sure their opinions don’t become mine without thought, research, or personal experience of my own.
DO I REGRET NOT GOING TO AMERICAN UNIVERSITY?
Oh, the American dream frat parties, Greek life, football games, the whole college movie experience. Sure, sometimes I wonder what my life would’ve looked like if I had chosen the “traditional” path. I mean, to this day, I’ve still never been to a college party… and honestly, that doesn’t really bother me. Almost everywhere I’ve gone, the legal drinking age is 18, so I’m not missing out on the so-called “experimental years” of college life.
Back in spring of 2024, when I was still trying to figure out my next step in education, the idea of spending four years on one campus felt daunting. I could already picture myself feeling stuck and restricted. I get that same feeling every time I come home for the summer yes, I have freedom, but it’s nowhere near the freedom I feel when I travel.
Sometimes, I do miss the consistency my friends back home have the long-term friendships, the routines, the people they get to grow with for years. Part of me feels like I might’ve missed some of those classic moments of meeting my future bridesmaids. But in exchange, I’ve met friends from dozens of countries people with stories, cultures, and perspectives that have shaped me far more than any frat party ever could.
There are trade-offs with this lifestyle, absolutely. But when I get to close my laptop for four days to go hiking, or white-water rafting, or exploring some new corner of the world before settling into a café to catch up on schoolwork… I know I made the right choice. A million times over, I would choose this unique path where I decide how, when, and where I learn.
WHATS THIS BLOG ABOUT
Hi! I’m Catalina, but somewhere along the way everyone started calling me Cat and the name stuck along, cute and easy to remember.
Two years ago, I packed my life into two backpacks and a tote bag and decided to see what would happen if I stopped waiting for the “right time” to travel. Since then, I’ve wandered through more than 20 countries across 4 continents, chasing moments, mistakes, sunrises, and stories I never expected.
This blog is my way of bringing the people I love and the people who’ve found me online along for the ride. The life I live isn’t always pretty or glamorous, but it’s mine, and every high and low has shaped the way I view the world.
CATS ADVENTURES 