Wanderlust [ˈwɒn dərˌlʌst] noun
A strong desire or impulse to travel.
Over the past three years, we have been on 12 vacations together outside of Denmark, and if not for Señor Corona throwing a wrench in the works, the number would probably have been higher. On each of these trips, homesickness has never played a role. Instead, we often experience wanderlust – a longing to get out, to see more, and experience more.
Paramedic meets entrepreneur
We first met back in 2016, when we both worked at the same restaurant in Aarhus. We were busy with our own lives, and our contact faded away when I stopped to join the military. Four years later, our paths crossed again, and we quickly realized that we couldn’t live without each other.
Rasmus’ new business was taking off, and I was halfway through my studies. We found a good rhythm with two jobs that had varying working hours.
Many around us began to move in a direction that we also considered the norm at the time. Couples of the same age completed their education, bought a house, got a dog, and had children shortly thereafter. We ourselves took the step towards the white picket fence when we moved into a townhouse in the suburbs and bought a car together. Maybe it was that exact choice that told us it wasn’t necessarily the right approach for us.
It’s so easy to follow the crowd, but if just one person goes against it, others will follow suit. We have talked a lot about what the norm is, but fundamentally, we shouldn’t define it in the first place. We look at the people around us and copy their behavior. The norm is actually just a limitation.
When I was unsure if medical school was right for me, I felt like the odd one out. I didn’t think it was “normal” to drop out, especially not so late in the program. There was no one I knew who had changed their major, so it had to be me doing something wrong. I have since become much wiser, and I have met many others who were uncertain about which path to take.
We are not meant to just do what everyone else is doing. We should do what makes us happy and what feels right in our gut. All dreams are not the same. What may be the right way for some is not necessarily right for others. We must dare to challenge what we define as the norm and instead do what makes sense for each of us.
Our thirst for adventure grows
We are no strangers to traveling and experiencing the world. Both our families took us on several vacations outside Denmark. Throughout our lives, we have been given a taste of what the world has to offer, and that taste only made us crave more. After high school, we both traveled as backpackers and saw the world in a whole new light. We became aware of all the opportunities beyond the borders of Europe. New cultures and flavors blew us away.
In each other, we found a like-minded partner in crime, and when we talked about our dreams, they only grew bigger. We wanted the same things, and the appetite for traveling became almost insatiable. We have tried both package holidays, city breaks, and road trips. Rasmus introduced me to Interrail, the first summer we spent together. For a train enthusiast, it is the ideal form of travel, and he had already done quite a few trips. It was a longer trip, and there was no fixed plan. For the first time, I experienced the freedom of just being swept away, where only desire determined our path. It gave us a very unique sense of freedom, and that summer in Italy still has a very special place in my heart.
Since then, we have used every gap in the calendar to explore new destinations together, and every time we came home, we dreamed of the next adventure. The list of destinations we wanted to experience grew steadily. We had convinced ourselves that we could only travel on our vacations, but the “few” weeks a year were no longer enough. Fortunately, we both had flexible jobs, so with a little good planning, we began to slowly increase our travels. A working holiday to London and later a long weekend in Milan taught us how easy it was to travel. Nothing could dampen our desire to travel. Not even a newly removed wisdom tooth could stop the avalanche we had started. The stitches from the operation were removed the day before we packed the car to drive toward France.
We collected so many fantastic memories along the way, and we were constantly asked if it could be true that we were about to travel once again. Our thirst for more was unquenchable, and in the end, we asked ourselves: Why shouldn’t we do exactly what makes us so happy every day? What’s holding us back?
Dreams becoming goals
It is difficult to say whether COVID played a part in our decision. An isolated world definitely highlighted our need to get out. We are quite convinced, though, that even without a global pandemic, we would have reached the same result. The lockdown, however, taught us that virtual work is not only feasible, but it can also be advantageous in some aspects.
When I passed my final exam in December 2021, the plans started to take shape. We had long toyed with the idea of living abroad, and there had previously been Danish paramedics who found work in London. The opportunity seemed obvious, but Brexit did not make planning a walk in the park. Visa requirements were towering, and I would not be able to get credit for my Danish education. Failure, however, was not a word we would accept without a fight. We terminated the lease on our townhouse while pulling every possible string to get a foot in the door. The cost of moving to London’s tempting city life eventually became overwhelming, and we decided instead to take a long trip when our lease expired. Then we could always take up the fight again when we returned.
Wait, why should we set a return date? The trip, which was initially intended as a break from our big plans, suddenly became THE PLAN.
As a newly appointed huckster, I began selling the car and the furnishings from our house. After many trips to the recycling center and even more trips to the post office with our sold belongings, the house was empty. Only a few specially selected things were allowed to survive and were stored at our parents’ homes. A chapter of our life had ended, and on a cold day in January, we could hand over the keys to the place we had called home for two years.
We just couldn’t find any good excuses to stay within the familiar framework, and we chose to act on our wanderlust. We decided to turn our dreams into goals. We made a plan and took action. Now, our lives are packed into three peach-colored suitcases. We have detached ourselves from the hamster wheel with its accompanying obligations, and we are excited to see what our new life brings.
We both agree that this decision feels absolutely right.
A promise to let the adventures continue
Our good friend Erin told us that after she graduated, she made an agreement with herself to always have a plane ticket ready to go somewhere in the world. That way there was never an excuse not to go. A husband and a couple of adult children later, the agreement still lives on without exceptions.
We also want to live our lives this way. It’s been too easy to get caught up in habits, comfort, and daily routines. We both need to be challenged. We need to know that we have seized all the opportunities life has given us. Through my job, I’ve seen too many people who have waited too long, and whose health eventually took away their ability to follow their dreams.
With a promise to ourselves and each other to never settle, we embrace the adventures that await and are determined to live our lives to the fullest.
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