I spent time in the warm waters of Mexico when I was eight. Photo courtesy of my father Timothy Foley.
The idea of growing up traveling certainly puts some ideas into the mind’s of San Luis Obispo High School Students.
Although those may be true, there is a lot more behind it.
When people think of living in a vehicle or traveling long term, the stereotype is that it’s a cozy van parked on a sunny beach. Sometimes there are those moments, after six hour car rides, fighting over AUX, and the constant dispute of where to stay.
After telling people that I grew up traveling, the most common thing I hear is, “what a dream” or “Wow, a five year vacation!”. For people who go to school every day, work nine to five’s, or basically live the typical American lifestyle, my childhood probably does seem like a really long vacation.
In my mind it is quite the opposite, traveling became my life, my normal way of living, anything otherwise would be my own version of a vacation. My family would occasionally stay at someone’s house or have access to a room or two at some hostels. It felt so strange living in a house and it seemed like we were on a little break from traveling, our own little “vacay.’
While most people assume that traveling is really expensive, it’s actually quite the contrary. If traveling is done in the right way and in the right places, then it can be even cheaper than just living in an hour or paying rent. In foreign countries, specifically South and Central America, the food is dirt cheap and often is still authentic.
As a kid, it was nice to have so much freetime, to be able to explore and create my own little world. However, that was completely normal to me, it didn’t feel like I was getting any more time. During the school year, other kids would have school so it became more difficult to find things to do.
Sometimes traveling instead of having one solid home could be very strange. When I would talk to other kids my age about their experiences or what they do in their day to day life I realized how different it was from my own.
That is just my experience, among many others. Everyone has their own experience when it comes to traveling and what it feels like. It was my life and my normal, but now I have a new normal, here in San Luis Obispo and at SLOHS.