My Cringey Perspective On Travelling

Hello,
I'm glad to have you here.

_{Designed with Canva App | Source Image}

---

There are basically two types of people when it comes to travel; the ones who love it and the ones that avoid it at all cost. I consider myself the latter. I mean, I prefer to be in one place, my comfort zone, rather than go through the hassle of moving my human being to a place that isn't.

But then, we just have to travel for some reason or another. It is either to visit some relatives for a family function, or move to school from home for the semester sessions, or even to get to the market to get groceries. And if I had my way, I would not mind that teleportation power if Five (from the Umbrella Academy) were to start a giveaway.

---

_{Powered by Tenor}

---

This topic on travelling was just in time because I have to travel this week to school. My university is not in session because of the ongoing strike (the refusal...), but I need to get back to working on my final year project so I can get the heck out of school as soon as my final examinations are concluded. I started this degree six years ago, and now it is beginning to look like I applied for medicine and surgery (I heard it takes seven years).

But I digress...
Let me now tell you about my perspective on traveling, particularly travelling alone versus travelling with people:

Lone Ranger...

You see, I take myself to be the kind of person that values their personal space so much that I may lose balance without it. This is not to say that I am not a "people person." It is more like, "I like to have people around me, but that tiny space for me, myself, and I must exist;" it is imperative. And at the same time, I am not an "over-thinker." Small thinking, off I doze off; if it stresses me.

---

_{Powered by Tenor}

---

This should imply that I would love to walk alone, which would make the most obvious sense. But here's why it's not always the case for me: I love music so much that I literally listen to it everywhere and every now and then. And when I take walks alone, it is my companion (if my phone happens to be completely without power, I may as well postpone the walk).

But in a country like mine, Nigeria, where everybody is angry, you have to tread carefully and shine your eyes. So, if I happen to be in an environment, like a market, I'll be needing my ears to be on the lookout.

---

_{Powered by Tenor}

---

I once got slapped in the face during one of my walks simply because I paid no attention to my surroundings and hit a thug in the way (my own way o, but it's fine). My ears still ring till today, and it's been two years now (not actually).

The "gather around" Traveler...

I would put myself in the "people-person" category because I can get all "talky" and I cannot be doing that with myself; would I not look crazy? So to compliment that personality of mine, I have to have the company of another person, or people, for actual conversations.

---

_{Powered by Tenor}

---

But let us imagine this scenario:
I own a car (I wish), and I would like to travel to another state to check out my mansion (I be daydreaming) that I am constructing there. And the journey with my car should take about six hours.

Now, say I decide to go alone. I will have to be on the wheels all by myself with no one to take turns with. Definitely, I'd have a playlist of songs playing in the car, but the artists won't be able to tell me about how they saw a taxi driver and his passenger arguing about whether or not the fee was paid, and how funny it is while I'm driving.

Or say the traffic warden stops me to accuse me of violating some traffic rule that was created before my mother's birth. Or say I am driving through the night on a road with me being the only driver around. I wouldn't want to be alone in any of these situations.

You get the idea now? Traveling with people is widely considered to be safer.

So, if I need to travel, especially long distances, I may just want to hit my friends up and be like "gather around guys, we're going on a trip."

But...

You now have a good guess on the type of travel I would prefer, but before I come to a conclusion, I would like to share how this whole post came about. I saw a comment from a friend and he used the word "Dystychiphobia".

Dystychiphobia is a fear of accidents. With this specific phobia, you may feel anxious when you think about or see a place where you fear an accident may happen._Source.

---

_{Powered by Tenor}

---

And I used to have this as a kid, especially when traveling by air.

Firstly, I used to be scared of being on motorcycles (okada). In Nigeria, when you're a kid and you have a sibling, or more, and your mother wants to take a bike, there is always going to be one child at the front of the bike man; I was usually that child. And as little as my mind was as a child, I knew that in the event of an accident, I would be the first partaker, as per being in front.

As for travelling by air...
There were so many plane crashes that happened while I was a kid. So the first time I entered a plane, I was internally freaked out throughout the journey.
In my mind, I was like, "This journey is so unnecessary. We could simply send our condolences to the family and this place crash will not need to take place at all, "(and there were no signs of anomalies throughout the journey 😂).

My fear of plane accidents crashed the plane that was flying my dream of becoming a pilot. 😂😂😂
Till today, we never see that plane.

---

_{Powered by Tenor}

---

When I thought about it, I figured that is most likely why I do not like to travel. I just like to be safe.

So, in conclusion...

I do love my personal space, but just seeing a movie or just listening to a song may be too common a thing to do when traveling. And having a friend journey with me may just make the trip merry.

Now, I do not know the type of traveler you are, unless I have seen your post. But it would be nice if you let me know in the comments which type of person you'd rather be; the "lone ranger" or the "gather around" traveler.