I looked at the calendar this morning and realized something a bit unnerving….as of today I have exactly one month left of my Round the World adventure. My adventure to see the world, to welcome new experiences, to step out side my comfort zone and to meet new people and reunite with old friends. While I have had an incredible time doing all of these things, I am not feeling quite settled because I still have not sorted out the main reason why I originally embarked on this journey.  That reason was to finally jump off the corporate treadmill and discover a new way to make a successful living doing something that I love.  

Time is playing its regular tricks on me.  When I realize I only have 1 month left, I feel like I am just getting started on this trip and I can’t believe it is already time to start cleaning up my toys to go home. But when I think about individual events (reuniting with my Japanese host family in Tokyo, participating in the Capoeira Brasil 20 Year Anniversary in Sydney, visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul) they all seems to have taken place ages ago.  Something I did last year, not just a matter of months ago.

So now the dreaded question I keep hearing:

                        “So, what’s next, Nailah?”

and the even worse answer:

                        “I don’t know”.  (Queue the evil mystery music: Dunh, dunh DUUUNNNH!!!)

Of course I’ve heard this question all along my journey but in the beginning it didn’t seem quite so daunting.  At the time I had a legitimate answer. I was using this trip as a time to help figure out that very question.  But now that I have exactly one month left before I have to return home and face reality, I can’t realistically use that excuse any longer.

Like many travel bloggers who start on an extended trip, there is the temptation to keep going.  I’ve read about plenty of travelers that started out with a six months trip, and five years later they are still circumnavigating the globe.  While this is tempting, I know that is not the right option for me at this time.  I know that if I continue traveling while I’m uncertain of “what’s next” I will never get to “what’s next”.  I will just keep moving along, visiting new places and meeting new people until I run out of money (which honestly wouldn’t take very long). 

That brings me to the second issue: I cannot continue to travel or even live back at home, unless I find a way to generate an income. I’d hoped to find a means of making a living without having to go back to the cubicle, but so far, I’ve not been able to find that ideal job that would combine my skills, my interests, my desire to be location independent.

My last issue is that I happen to actually like my home town.  While I love to travel and have no problem leaving Los Angeles for months at a time, I am not ready to pull up stakes all together.  I love my city, the friends I have there, my favorite little haunts and of course my Capoeira group. That makes me wonder, are there other travelers out there who are also attached to their homes? Can I be a professional traveler, if I have an apartment and a pet to eventually come home to?  If the answer to either of those questions is “No”, then it is my goal to figure out how to change that.  

On August 30 I will board a plane from London Heathrow to Los Angeles International whether I’ve worked out “what’s next” or not.  The truth is that even though I had wanted to avoid it, I may need to go back to a corporate position if there’s one to be had – the rent is not going to pay itself.  If that is the case, with any luck, it will be one that is at least closer to the travel industry or one that will allow me to work remotely so I can continue to focus on my career in travel.