I want MY Freedom!
A statement I have grown to hate in the travel sphere
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My piece on “my gun story” is the best I have ever written according to my family, but now is not the time for me to share. I am sorry.
“I want my freedom!”
Words I have never said. Ever. In 8+ years of full-time travel.
Words I will never say. I have always had freedom. I will never take it for granted.
Our family left the United States in 2014, for our kids. They were our “why” for this lifestyle we have created called WorldTowning. We had a good life, friends, diversity-filled schools and community. We did not leave because of the government, lackluster careers, a mid-life crisis, or for any other reason. We left for three reasons. One, we wanted more time with our kids and a strengthening of our family bond. Two, we wanted to focus on making memories over buying stuff. Three, we wanted our kids to learn about the world, out in the world and from its people, not from what the textbooks portrayed, or what they heard from others. This is freedom!
During our first 5-6 years of full-time travel, we met a lot of WorldTowners who had very similar stories to ours in many ways. They had left behind happy lives in their birth country. A handful left indefinitely, another handful were on a 3-year sabbatical and many were sandwiched somewhere between the bookends with their unknown timelines. These travelers reigned from various countries across the globe, had different complexions, diverse socio-economic backgrounds, and kids ranging from infants to teens. They had justified reasons for jumping into the unknown without a net. A large majority had lost parents just before or right after their retirement which was the catalyst for them manifesting their dreams before retirement. A handful had gone through a medical crisis in their middle life which caused them to realize the fragility of life. Yet another handful had always dreamed of long-term travel. And then there were those like us who wanted to learn in the world with their kids and create memories over buying stuff. After years of coaching those who want to full-time travel, the story is still the same. This is freedom.
Not ONE of the travelers we met in those first 5-6 years ever mentioned they were traveling because they wanted “THEIR FREEDOM!” Never.
They had freedom.
Freedom got them to where they were.
They were grateful for it.
End of story.
Freedom never even came up in conversations.
Freedom was understood in full-time travel circles.
Freedom: the quality or state of being free, such as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. liberation from slavery or the power of another. the boldness of conception or execution. a political right.
Well, there is a new traveler in town these past couple of years.
The “I left (insert country) because I want my freedom!” kind of traveler. There is consistently a deep emphasis on the words MY FREEDOM when they share what they think is a common bond between us travelers. Their voice changes when they say those two words. It gets angry. Their body gesticulates. Their facial expressions contort. And they look at us as if have been friends for decades and will agree with them 100%.
This new traveler left home because they felt “their freedom” was being restricted.
It should be noted that the “my freedom” traveler comes from a wealthy, westernized country littered with all the freedoms many wish to have when choosing to immigrate to a country like this. They are middle to upper-middle-class income earners. So far, they are just like the other full-time travelers I mentioned above. But here is where the difference lies. They don’t believe some humans in their home country should enjoy the same freedoms they enjoy because of the color of their skin, their immigration status, their gender, and often who they choose to engage with sexually. Commonly the umbrella “my freedom” seekers fall under would be those who “do not” believe in equality, but they would never admit to that being their motive. A good majority of their home country is pushing for equality, and they are busy sitting around comparing the mask-wearing regulations to the Holocaust and how the country is heading in that direction. They are looking for an excuse to say the country is going to shit so they don’t have to come clean with their truth. They come from privileged in many ways, but not in all ways. First, their education for current/historic events in the world regarding freedom is insufficient. All one needs to do is read a bit and it will be clear that the request to wear a mask to protect others is very different than the ethnic cleansing of 7 million Jews. Second (and the one that frankly scares me more), they lack empathy for those who have been marginalized. It is a “me, me, me” attitude. Hence, “my freedom!”
The “my freedom,” traveler sells their possessions, tells their friends they are “done with this bullshit” and proceeds to buy the boat or book the flight. They immediately hire local help in their new land and pay them less than what they are worth and are the first to complain about the quality of the work or brag about how inexpensive they got it. They only befriend people from their home country or other westernized countries. They bring “freedom” into any group conversation, even if the discussion is not going that way, and inevitably end up back home within a year or two because they never got what they were looking for. Not only is this lifestyle hard, but it also is not sympathetic to those who lack empathy.
I want to mention that “I want freedom” can be a good word. There is a difference between “I want freedom” and “I want MY freedom.” My in-laws immigrated from communist Cuba because they just wanted freedom. They did not ask for “my” freedom, just freedom. Will and I have sat in dozens and dozens of conversations with people who want to immigrate to the US because they want freedom. They want freedom for their daughter to marry who she loves. They want freedom for their son to explore his creative side and not be pushed into typical “blue” male roles. They want to be able to sleep at night and not worry about having their home bombed. They want access to healthcare. They want freedom, just freedom, not MY freedom.
Freedom is not universal and the longer we are out here the more travesties of the world we see.
Three years ago, we were sleepy-eyed, and a bit jet-lagged when the cook in our Riad delivered an enormous breakfast to our table. We were certain we could never finish it on our own and welcomed her to join us in the center courtyard. Our conversation revolved around food. What was her favorite local dish? What was the cheese situation like in the country? Does she like to cook? Our banter was interesting and dynamic, we immediately felt connected to the culture, and food has a way of doing that. Will excused himself to get his camera and she very seriously looked into my eyes and said the most penetrating words I had heard from a woman at that time, “you are so lucky your husband lets you talk.” You may be saying…“of course he lets me talk,” but, in many countries across the world talking freely in the presence of a man is a freedom they are now allowed.
Last week we made our way to Panama City to get the ball rolling for a future long-stay visa in a far-off land! On our return, we were met by immigration at a roadside checkpoint. Our taxi driver told us they often have immigrants trying to enter Panama on small, wooden boats from…Venezuela. Venezuela is 500 miles from our current location in the San Blas islands of Panama. In our 38-foot boat, it would take us 4 days to sail continuously throughout the day and night to arrive here from Venezuela. It is not an easy sail, let alone being in a small wooden boat with limited food, water, and safety equipment. They are risking their lives to get out of Venezuela in the name of freedom.
Just last night we invited two South African men on our boat for a thank-you cocktail after they rescued our anchor from being devoured by a rock. Sometimes in this sailing life, you end up anchoring in a spot where your anchor gets tangled on some rocks and you are stuck. In our case, it was too deep to free dive to even investigate the situation. Luckily our neighbor boat had dive equipment and quickly came to the rescue. They sailed from Aruba to Panama without a pop-in to Colombia as they needed visas just to visit for a short time. After swapping sail stories (something very common in this community) we moved on to all the countries they were restricted from (quite a few) which makes for even longer passages and more risk.
It often takes leaving the privilege to recognize how good one has it. I know that each year longer we travel we become more cognizant of how lucky we are. How damn lucky we are to have been born in the US and the freedom we enjoy as a result. It was luck. We did nothing to deserve it. We were just born there.
I hope this new “I want MY freedom,” traveler is changed by travel. Whether they realize it or not, the journey they have embarked upon is a gift that very few can undergo. “I want MY freedom” is hopefully just a steppingstone to something greater…something that not just benefits “their world”, but “the world.” You cannot travel the world without recognizing the freedoms you enjoy, and others don’t. And in a perfect world, one day they will look in the mirror at that person who left on the boat or airplane years before and no longer recognize who is looking back at them. Travel has the power to educate and change, its superpower is the unwinding of hate and the opening of the heart to extend empathy. I am a glass-is-half-full person and in my heart-of-hearts, I would like to imagine that their “why” for leaving (insert country) was always there right in their backyard, but they had to travel the world to find it.
Or maybe they won’t be changed which is a possibility as well.
xoxo,
Jessica
Thank you for joining us this week. Have you met this type of traveler? How do you handle it? Do you encounter people like this in your stationery life? I never sit idle when someone says “I want my freedom!” But, I also don’t get on a full on argument. I try to educate a bit, but ultimately I keep my distance from a human lacking empathy. Life is too short.
Get to know us better! LIVE on YouTube
We went LIVE on YouTube for over 2 hours this past weekend. Damn, we can talk. It was so much fun. We covered A LOT. You all had amazing questions and I love how deep you took it. Give it a listen during your walk or cooking dinner or during a long care ride if you want to take a deeper look into our heads. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on all the topics covered.
Another LIVE
We also had a chat with many of you on Instagram. Again, amazing questions and we even had a special guest. Avalon was buying a dress for a dance and she needed our help deciding. Thanks for all your thoughts. She chose the red one!
This weeks vlog
Largo and I hosted the first 4 days of our group trip in Morocco without Will back in November (yes, we are behind on edits). He had COVID. OMG! You don’t want to miss this. Largo and I had to handle vlogging and be there for our group. Don’t expect award winning cinematography on this one. Ha.
Where are we now?
Still in the San Blas islands of Panama. For real time updates catch us on IG.
To learn more about us, our mission, and our business you can visit us at WorldTowning. To view our most recent group trip offerings head on over to WorldTowningvoyages.com. If you are interested in booking a coaching session to realize your travel dream, schedule it here. If you want to follow the travels of our WorldTowning family, you can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
YOU NAILED IT.
This is an excellent post. Thank you for spelling out the difference between asylum-seeking freedom-seekers versus “my freedom”-seeker crypto bros eager to tell you how cheaply they’re living their Canadian or US life in Nicaragua, shamelessly sucking the resources out of resource-poor communities.
We met some incredible people on our travels, but meeting this “flavor” of traveler shocked and disappointed me.
Great post.
You’re right Jessica - we have all the freedom already. Powerful insight.