Why Turning A Blind Eye To Your Present Fears Is Only A Temporary Fix

As Millennials, we have the ability to hop on a plane and travel to any destination our heart desires. When life gets hard, rather than facing our tough problems, we have the ability to leave them behind and start new lives anywhere we choose.

While this could be the "living the dream" lifestyle we all aspire to, we may be depriving ourselves of ever becoming mature adults.

How will we learn to handle big problems that come our way, if we always run from small ones? How far can we run before our problems catch up with us?

Does hopping from one town, city, country or continent to the next really help us escape? Or does living the life of a nomad simply amplify our issues?

Running away is a (poor) coping mechanism.

I had myself convinced moving to a tiny, dot-on-the-map island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea would give me the fresh start I so desperately needed.

I naively believed by quitting my job, selling virtually all my possessions and cutting off contact with nearly everyone I knew would somehow erase all the troubles I was facing.

I was unhappy with my job, my ex-boyfriend was a nightmare and my petty family problems were all culminating into a nearly inevitable meltdown. I needed out.

Granted, moving to a foreign country was the best decision I've ever made, but I initially left as a way to cope, aka, forget my problems. But rather than disappearing into oblivion, they followed me. Then, I had to cope in an unfamiliar, lonely environment.

Life in a foreign country is an amazing experience. It's one that comes with a new set of unwelcome troubles. Again, I had enough, and I chose to move to a new, unfamiliar place rather than face the new problems. I did it again and again after that.

I'm slowly learning and realizing that wherever problems are created is not where they will get resolved. They will be resolved only when we choose to face them, whether it be at home with loved ones or in some far-away land all on our own.

Just because we can ghost doesn't mean we should.

Turning yourself into a vanishing act might be a temporary, easy way out, but ghosting on your own life will inevitably turn into self-destructive behavior somewhere down the line.

Being a 20-something with the world at your fingertips is liberating and powerful. But on the other hand, if utilized as a crutch to mask or avoid real problems all together, it will only hinder our maturation.

Being caught in-between adolescence and adulthood is a delicate period. One must navigate lightly yet confidently, otherwise risking a permanent case of "WTF do I do now?"

When we try to leave our problems behind in a single location, they come back to bite us, sometimes even harder than before. No amounts of hakuna matata will free you from whatever it is you're running from.

Yes, life as a Millennial can be rough. Thankfully, we live in a world that is more accessible than ever before. And by all means, if you have the ability to to experience the world, you absolutely should.

Before you touch down in Thailand, though, remember you're only taking a vacation from your real-life troubles, not leaving them behind.