Anatomy of this Outfit: Top – Forever 21 | Hat – Urban Outfitters | Shorts – Vintage | Boots – Thrifted


Travel is this amazing thing that we have access to like never before. With flights under 100 euros to neighboring countries within Europe, it’s a wonder that I’m not off exploring some new and undiscovered land every weekend. Which, to be honest, is kind of one of my plans. Because travel is this incredible thing that allows you to discover parts of the world where people do things entirely differently than you are used to. Where words are spoken that you have never heard before. It’s a chance to hear new sounds, taste new things. But on the flip-side, it’s transient, unstable, and the perfect remedy to an uncertain millennial. It’s the highest form of modern escapism.

My best friend Artur has a friend he met during his first year with his new company. While I have never met the girl myself, I have heard plenty about her. She is a 29 year old German woman who divides her time between working as an Agile coach in the corporate world and teaching yoga and disappearing off on retreats where you don’t speak a lick of language for a week and has recently left it all behind to travel the world for the year. And while being able to drop everything and go is both free, brave, and admirable (and something that has been on my mind for a few years now), doing so with unfinished business is not always a sign of someone who has been able to do away with the worldly possessions that seem to tie us down to a rock in these modern times, nor the sign of someone who has got all their spiritual and emotional shit sorted.

Now there really is something to be said for transience. There is some kind of magic in not being chained to objects. And sometimes I think that homes can be prisons. That possessions can drown us and stymie our development as human beings. That the everyday routine of waking up, getting up, cleaning up, and eking out some sort of professional existence is some modern form of slavery keeping us from realizing our larger potential – our larger potential as a human being but also our larger potential as individuals with individual needs, wants, and things to discover larger than what we do 9-5.

But as hard as it is to kiss your comfy flat goodbye, reduce your possessions to what you can fit in a car or carry on your back, isn’t your baggage always lighter when your refuse to bring your problems with you?

I remember when I was little and used to pack this small pink suitcase with carosel horses painted on the front with every intention of running away. I made it as far as the treehouse in the back yard, with a suitcase full of entirely non-essential items for making it in that big bad world all alone – like my favorite stuffed animal (although to be fair, for a 6 year old, Squeaky bunny was kind of a big deal) and a box of snowcaps (also, kind of a big deal) – and when my parents came out back to see what all the commotion was about, I informed them, quite matter-of-factly and with impressive resolve that I was “running away.” Clearly, I wasn’t all that successful, but the intention was there.

I’m pretty sure every kid at some point in their childhood says “Fuck this” and thinks of running away. I mean, in all honestly, it’s kind of a childhood rite of passage. This need to physically escape when you don’t know what else to do is engrained in all of us. Why fight when you can flee? Which kind of makes me think that eternal travel is sort of the big girl grown-up way of doing pretty much the exact same thing.

I won’t lie. When I find myself in a situation I am less than pleased about, the first thought when I wake up is, “damn, I should just really pack up and go.” But then I remember I have two cats that depend on me and a renting company that would be less than chuffed if I just stopped paying rent all together. In fact, I kind of entertained the idea two weeks ago after waking up in someone else’s bed wondering if my life is what I want it to be. I mean, I’ve never been to Hawaii and I’ve heard that it’s supposed to absolutely lovely this time of year.

So what’s the big deal with running away anyway? If it works for you, is it really all that bad? Aren’t we all allowed to throw in the towel every now and then? Give life the middle finger and set fire to it all? And can’t travel help us reach some form of inner enlightenment that’s harder to discover under all the muck of our daily responsibilities?

I don’t suggest running away from it all and refusing to face your problems head-on. Cos if you do you might escape the distance but when you eventually do have to come back home, you’ll most likely be right where you were when you laid waste to it all in one blazing glory of “fuck this.” But temporarily putting things aside is different than giving up all together. And I’m a Cancer anyway, so it’s my natural inclination to permanently domesticate myself one of these damned days.

So maybe it’s time to pack those bags and go. Face this big bad world all by my big bad self. But only for a little while. Cos at the end of day, like David Byrne says, “Home is where I want to be.”

Photography: Thommy White
Editing: Rae Tashman


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Rae Tilly

Rae the EIC of LFB and YEOJA Magazine. She is also a photographer and social media influencer.

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  • missgetaway

    Oh such a lovely post! I totally get what you mean. And these pictures are just gorgeous.

    Love, Kerstin
    http://www.missgetaway.com/

  • Such a great post! That’s one of the reasons I did decide to travel – to get away from my problems. Some may consider it to be just dusting them under the rug, but sometimes you just need to get away x
    http://my–socalledlife.blogspot.com.au/

  • Caliope Couture

    What a lovely casual look! I absolutely agree – sometimes you just need some time out.
    Christina ♥ https://caliope-couture.com

  • This is such a gorgeous post. Travelling is so wonderful but always needs to be done in the right way and for the right reasons :)

    Also, what a cute outfit!

    Alice | Whiskey Jars

  • I think running towards something is the better option to running away from something :) -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

  • Carina Vardie

    6 year old you must have been the sweetest! You look amazing in this outfit and I agree with needing time.

    xo
    http://www.carinavardie.com
    https://www.youtube.com/c/CarinaVardie

  • I wish I could travel to Europe for a 100 euros! That would be amazing! I’d travel every weekend! It’s so expensive from NY. But I’ve been wanting to take little roadtrips around NY this summer maybe up to Rhode Island or Boston! Love your top by the way!
    ~Sara

  • Your hair is soooo grogeous!!! Love your style!

    XoXo,

    Tamara – LoveofMode.com

  • You’re posts are always such an inspiration for me! While it’s always been a dream to just drop everything, travel, and disappear, I knew I couldn’t just get up and go. When I quit my job this past week, I realized I’ve slowly been building up to “running away”. Little by little, I’m carefully saying my goodbyes, and I hope that eventually I will be able to explore.

    http://www.thewanderingkitsune.com/

  • This was so beautifully written Rae! I can completely relate to both sides of the argument you present, as I have both temporarily fled life and responsibilities and stuck around when the urge to leave was there at various points in the last ten years of your life. But, like you said…eventually you always end up longing for home and longing for the grown up version of pink suitcases and bunnies.

  • Beautiful post as always. This is definitely a bit of what I did this year, ok there was travelling to discover and learn but I was running away from a lot of problems I didn’t know how to face.
    And travel has taught me how to deal with some of those things, but other problems have just followed me, creeping back slowly. So ultimately you have to seal with them <3

    The Quirky Queer

  • I think running away doesn’t always mean going to far away places. Maybe just going to a nearby town to refresh us could already give us a taste of wanderlust and reinvention. Right? :)

    Augustin Ra | Indie Spirit

  • love these thoughts and this post. travelling is such a beautiful thing (and i wish i travelled more often)! but running away from your problems is never the answer, they tend to follow you wherever you go. but taking a break from it all by running away temporarily might do some good, i think! i think about leaving everything behind on a semi regular basis, although i don’t think i’d actually run away in that sense, but little run-away travels would be good:-) and i also used to “run away” from home so often when i was wee, haha! it was more of a game to play and sometimes we’d even plan – and partially execute the plans – our escape with my brother, though i run away far more often. also, you look absolutely lovely! xx

  • Amazingly written post! I agree with you x

    Jessica — Woods Lifestyle

  • Absolutely love this. Travelling is definitely my way to find a little escapism x

    Hannah | Oh January

  • Such a great blog post and the look babe! I love your pictures xxx

    thelondonthing.co.uk

  • I’m a Cancer as well! In regards to running away, there is a saying that goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Like you, I have moments where I deeply crave packing a bag and running off. But running away won’t solve or make the problems go away. It actually just exacerbates them. You still have to face yourself, wherever you go. Also, right with you on home being where you want to be. No matter where I go or how much fun I have, there is no singularly greater moment than stepping foot back into my own home.

    Well written post, Rae.

    Alyse (J.X.L.) | Lumière & Lens

  • I love that even when you were little, the intention was there :) As of late I have come to be of the opinion of do whatever works for you, regardless of what others think. I also think that on some level everyone uses travel to escape for a little while, I’m already planning some escapes of my own.

    Raashi
    reflectionswithraa.blogspot.com.au

  • Another excellent post Rae! I’ve got to say, part of the reason I left for Hong Kong, not only because it was an amazing opportunity to further my career and truly make the country my home, was to run away from the pressures of being a fashion graduate in London, of being expected to live my life in a certain way and follow a bread-and-butter path. And like @@lumiereandlens:disqus so aptly mentions below, running away won’t solve the problems or make them go away, it masks them for a short period of time but in fact it helps you figure things out with a new head on, from a brand new perspective. It’s almost always about the perspective. Once I returned home, several of my problems “fixed themselves” as a result of my leaving-and-returning and others? I learnt to face them with an open mind, an open heart.

  • I love this post! really cute outfit too. Still obsessed with your hair!

    Shannon from http://cycleswithwolves.me

  • I always love the sense of adventure when traveling from place to place. I can relate to the feeling of wanting an escape. I’ve learned that running away doesn’t solve our problems, maybe temporarily. But if we want change, we have to solve the issues right then and there. I mean, it’s easier said than done, but I do know that life only happens once. And if you’re not happy, change those things in your life that are holding you down. Anyway, such a lovely post! xo

    McKenzie | therosynook.com

  • So many times have I wanted to just pack up a bag and travel the world without looking back. But because I try to be as fiscally responsible at my age, I know that it’s not the best idea for me to drop everything. Instead I plan little trips here and there around my work (which I do enjoy) schedule and try to create a work life balance that keeps me satisfied with my daily life. But yes there are days where I just want to say fuck it and back my bag, call in sick and escape =o) Great post!

    http://dreamofadventures.blogspot.com/

  • Nancy Wilde

    Escapism is the ultimate source of joy. Why did I fall in love with Dublin? Why don’t I just travel the world and work in kitchens as I bounce from country to country? I question myself everyday. I want to embrace all things wanderlust but simultaneously need the concept of home, a place where I can go back to, a shelter, a safe haven. Maybe I’m just getting old bah.