Despite writing online about my travels for eight years now, I’m relatively new to the travel blogging community and the subsequent social media. Since signing up for Twitter and Facebook in the past year, I’ve come across a lot of fellow travellers, and I’ve read a lot of biographies. One line that pops up a lot? “I’m a twenty-something traveller.” Recently, when reading another Twitter bio with the same line, I had a sudden thought: I’m not going to be a twenty-something traveller for much longer. I turn 30 next spring.

Audrey of That Backpacker recently posted that she was inspired to show some of her favourite shots of cats in Asia by some of my collections of animal photos. This is all getting very meta, because now she’s inspired me to do an Around the World post on the cats and kittens I’ve met in my travels.

In 2006, my hand luggage consisted of little more than the travel necessities (wallet and passport), one tiny digital camera, one book, and my journal and pens. Last year, through Central and South America, my hand luggage contained three cameras, one laptop, one hard drive, one smart phone, one Kindle, oh yeah, and my journal and pens. Guess which one got the least amount of use?

One of the things I really love about these semi-regular Around the World posts is that, while I’m travelling, I’m not consciously thinking, “I must take photos of Volkswagens.” I just end up taking pictures of things that I like, and lo and behold, I end up with a lot of the same shots, like puppies or seafood or random drunk backpackers (yes, those are three of my favourite things). These posts have helped me discover themes in my photography, and it has been very fun to search for the accompanying photos.

In this case, it’s Volkswagen vehicles. I’ve never owned a Volkswagen, but I love that I’ve seen them all over the world, in all different colours.

“I don’t know,” he mused one night over Skype. “I mean, I want to travel, but I’m so comfortable here. It’s so easy. Maybe I like this routine.”

I was talking to a friend of mine who has been planning a backpacking trip to South America, apparently setting out later on this year. All of a sudden, he came up with a barrage of excuses for why he shouldn’t, couldn’t, simply can’t travel.

And you know what I said to him?

“Bullshit.”

I don’t have one of those, “I quit my job and left my cubicle life behind to go and explore the world!” type stories. I’ve worked in offices, yes, and worked for companies I hated and companies I knew wouldn’t advance my career – hell, I’m working at an office right now, for six weeks. I’ve always known this work is temporary, though, and that the money earned would allow me to travel (or in this case, allow me to save money while I wait for my UK visa). I’ve been offered full-time positions and turned them down. I’ve never worked a day in my life that didn’t contribute, either directly or indirectly, to the life I’ve always known I would live, a life of travel.