The past week has been a very difficult one for me. Whilst I’m incredibly fortunate to be back in Australia with a great job, safe and cost effective places to live, and friends and family around me, I’m still finding some days really tough.

Firstly I was sick, which I hate. I found that whilst traveling I was hardly ever sick with the common cold I caught this week. Usually if I’m sick whilst on the road, I make sure that I slow down a little, don’t adventure quite as far, and spend a day or two chilling out in a hostel. But here in Australia, living a ‘regular life’ that’s not possible. I need to work. I need to be in an office for eight hours a day under fluro lights, working on a computer, managing projects, and making money. Most people, I imagine, will read this and think, ‘Please! Get over yourself! Everyone has to do that.’ And yes, millions of people go to work everyday exactly the same as me and have no complaints. But I’m still finding it hard to adjust. I’ve been back in Australia for almost three months and miss my life on the road dreadfully. So being unwell this week and sitting in an office all day was far more difficult than I had anticipated.

I’m also planning my next move in life. Earlier in the week I booked flights for my new adventure in a couple months time which was awesome, but it also made me realise that I still have a quite a few months here living through the Adelaide winter. I haven’t spent winter in Australia for three years, and it’s not something I’m looking forward to. I’m a summer girl. Give me a beach on a tropical island paradise and I’m completely happy. Waking up in the dark and cold every morning is, I find, depressing.

Lastly, I’m missing my boyfriend. I miss him like crazy and knowing I’m headed back to him, but not being able to pack up and go tomorrow is turning out to be just as difficult as I had feared. We knew when we parted back in January that this time apart was going to be awful, and some weeks are much harder than others.

But things aren’t all doom and gloom. I made it through last week when I was feeling really down and discouraged. Today I’ve regained my focus and am looking forward to doing everything I can over the next few months to prepare for the adventure that is coming, and has been booked. Booking my flights has caused everything to shift a little. My plans are now a reality, and excitement is once again setting in.

For a traveler like me who has wanderlust and adventure coursing through my veins, it’s expected to have difficult days and weeks. No one can be happy all the time. Life is a challenge, and everyone needs to deal in their own way. I miss the happiness high that I have constantly when I’m on the road. I know that I’m getting back to that, my next awesome adventure is not far away, but some days I get disheartened, and that’s okay. It’s times like this past week when everything seems so incredibly difficult that makes me appreciate the awesome times I’ve had that much more.

Featured image by Lotte Grønkjær