There are a lot of reasons to pursue your ultimate dreams of visiting a place, not the least of which is that the place might not be there forever. Whether it’s due to disaster, political turmoil, war, or simply tourist overcrowding, more and more places are becoming harder to visit. Which begs the question, why do we wait until we can no longer do something to lament on how we should have done it?
A long time ago, I read an article about the top places to see before they disappear, and that instantly put Venice at the top of my dream destinations list, because it’s sinking. And sure enough, by the time I went, the hotel I stayed at smelled of rotting wet wood, which kind of kills the romance of the most romantic city in Italy. The city experiences frequent and unpredictable flooding, and that’s not actually the worst thing, because it’s even more saturated with people than it is with water.
At least Venice is slowly deteriorating; sometimes surprising and unexpected occurrences can make a place unexpectedly harder, or at the very least unpleasant, to visit. Countries that were once exotic gems are now hotbeds for terrorist activity or conflict. For instance, over the past couple of weeks, the Middle East has erupted in political turmoil and tension. And while I’m sure a vacation in Tel Aviv is still perfectly safe and lovely, it’s still a little distasteful to know that people are being murdered by the dozens for protesting less than an hour away in Gaza.
If Israel was at the top of your list of places to visit, you probably would have been better off going last year. But you probably didn’t.
One of the saddest things about people is our tendency to do very little in pursuit of the things we deem really desirable. This ensures that our dreams never become more than that. Sure, if your dream is becoming a neurosurgeon or winning a best actor Oscar, then that’s probably fair. But if your dream is to visit Barcelona… bro, you can fucking do that. And you know how I know? Because there’s a pretty good chance you’re reading this on an iPhone that’s less than a year old.
If you can afford an iPhone X, then you can afford to put away $20 a month to make your dream come true.
So why do we wait?
People have all sorts of reasons…
“I just started a new job.”
“I’m trying to buy a house.”
“Ugh I have to renew my passport.”
Let’s be honest, there’s really never a good time to drop a bunch of money all at once. But going on your dream vacation is like having an unplanned baby. It might be a little expensive, but you’ll find a way to make it work, and you’ll love it just the same.
So ask yourself one question. Are you going to regret not having gone when you had the chance? If molten lava swallows up Hawaii or bombs level the Great Pyramid, are you going to kick yourself for having waited? If the answer is yes, then stop waiting. Because you never know what’s around the corner. You never know if they’ll close up Macchu Picchu to visitors or if Miami Beach will be wiped out by a hurricane. Don’t let the chance to have this experience you’ve always dreamed of pass you by.
Stop waiting to make your dream vacation come true. Because the only thing you can be sure is deteriorating faster than Angkor Wat or the Colosseum is you.
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