On a recent flight to New York City, my seat mate asked me what I did for a living. Still high from the release of my first book, I was all too happy to tell him I was a bona fide, true blue, working American writer. Two days post-release, I\u2019m not afraid to say I was feeling pretty darn giddy about it. We chatted about the book for a few minutes before he asked, \u201cSo how does one get to write a book these days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, well, I\u2019m a freelance writer,\u201d I started to explain. \u201cBefore the book, I wrote for magazines, mostly science and a lot travel stuff\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait\u2014you\u2019re a travel writer?!\u201d he interrupted. The man almost popped out of his seat with excitement, mustering more enthusiasm for the t-word than any of our previous exchanges about sex, love and brains (the subject matter of my new book). He couldn\u2019t wait to hear all about my \u201cexciting\u201d career and peppered me with questions for the rest of the flight.<\/p>\n
Okay, I get it. Travel writing sounds awesome, the kind of career that most 9-to-5ers only dream about. Admittedly, for the most part, it is awesome. I own that. My travel writing career has allowed both my son and myself to explore some incredible places and, more importantly, meet even more incredible people. But, as hard as I\u2019ve worked to earn my chops over the past decade, I find that I\u2019m not interested in being defined solely as a \u201ctravel writer\u201d anymore.<\/p>\n
Why, might you ask? It\u2019s simple. As I get older\u2014and the more I get to traipse around this big, bad world of ours\u2014I realize there is more to write about, and more to life, than just traveling. A lot more. There\u2019s as much exploration to be had in science, in policy, in health and in family, provided you care to look. But, beyond that, I have started to worry a bit about what being a \u201ctravel writer\u201d represents to others. And, what\u2019s more, if that persona may actually result in discouraging others from travel, which is the exact opposite of my intended goal.<\/p>\n
Let me explain.<\/p>\n
Ask your average person to describe a \u201ctravel writer.\u201d Chances are, you\u2019ll hear something about a fearless adventurer, a rebel, a bit of a Gonzo-esque personality with a well-used neck pillow and a zillion frequent flier miles. As I spoke with my new airplane friend, I could see his image of me changing from a sort-of-interesting author to this larger-than-life persona. And that\u2019s a daunting thing to have to put on\u2014and an even bigger one to live up to.<\/p>\n
The \u201ctravel writer\u201d requires you to go farther, do more and find new and tougher boundaries to push to try to fit into this jacket. I\u2019m not afraid to admit that I\u2019m not this person, despite some of the incredible destinations under my belt. I\u2019m a Mom, a nerdy professional and a bit of a homebody. While I may relish the opportunity to explore the Galapagos, I also get excited about an all-day Law and Order marathon. Trying to keep up with this \u201ctravel writer\u201d persona (as well as play one-up all the time with your travel writing peers) is exhausting\u2014not to mention darn near impossible.<\/p>\n
But worse, this \u201ctravel writer\u201d can often unintentionally scare the very people we hope to inspire. The \u201ctravel writer\u201d may inadvertently tell folks that the best and only way to travel requires peril and a hefty expense account. It demands ambition, fearlessness and a magnetic personality to rival Ryan Seacrest. It says that the destination is more important than the journey\u2014and that transformative experiences are impossible without first boarding a plane or booking a $500\/night hotel room. And I hate that because it\u2019s so not true.<\/p>\n
As I talked about my time in Europe with my seat mate, he kept saying things like, \u201cI could never do that!\u201d Once he grabbed on to that \u201ctravel writer\u201d thing, he lost the ability to understand that, yes, indeed, he could. Anyone can travel. You don\u2019t need to be a \u201ctravel writer.\u201d And most \u201ctravel writers\u201d are not the gallivanting extroverts he imagines. I wanted to tell him to let go of that \u201ctravel writer\u201d thing. That he could get out there and explore, too\u2014the only real requirements are an open mind, a desire to learn and a willingness to explore\u2014whether you are in Antarctica or your own backyard.<\/p>\n
As I see it, a writer\u2019s job is simple: to offer escape and the occasional epiphany and to tell wonderful stories about places and people. Travel is not required, though, admittedly, it is a nice-to-have.<\/p>\n
So while I\u2019ll continue to wear my \u201ctraveler\u201d mantle with pride\u2014\u201cwriter,\u201d too\u2014I think it\u2019s time for me to let go of the \u201ctravel writer\u201d (even if my random airplane neighbors can\u2019t). And I\u2019m doing it so I can shrug this wannabe Hunter S. Thompson off my back and inspire more people to get up and start exploring.<\/p>\n
Kayt Sukel is a passionate science and travel writer. She\u2019s one of the faces of Travel Savvy Mom\u00a0 <\/span><\/a>as well as the author of the controversial new book, DIRTY MINDS: HOW OUR BRAINS INFLUENCE LOVE, SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS<\/span><\/a> (Free Press, 2012).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On a recent flight to New York City, my seat mate asked me what I did for a living. Still high from the release of my first book, I was all too happy to tell him I was a bona fide, true blue, working American writer. Two days post-release, I\u2019m not afraid to say I … <\/p>\n