I am not much of a complainer, because I prefer to give energy to solutions rather than problems, even climbing hills and stairs with heavy luggage wasn’t a reason to be frustrated to me. I actually laughed when I looked up some of the hills I had to climb(lol)! But, I love to travel so much that going alone didn’t seem like a far-fetched idea. In theory it seemed pretty simple. The booking process is when it is still in planning mode, but the concerns and fears didn’t REALLY hit me until I was at the airport and about to board! The fears I dealt with were “this is a long flight,… over seas…over land” and then I reference all the stories I hear about planes disappearing and crashing.
I reached Croatia and had an intense moment of fear! I swore someone was trying to do me harm and I was SO upset with the police for treating it so casually!! I went to the police in fear that a local was basically trying to kill me (in my mind) and I imagined being followed and being stabbed to death, and being that story on the news with the headline “American traveler gets killed while on vacation!”
The reason the police were so calm about it is because crime doesn’t really happen in Croatia. The people don’t think to even get that far. The police station was basically empty and slow, because for whatever reason, the crime seems WAY less appealing than the actual punishment. I want to include that I had moments of fear, both going and while there so you luvs understand that fear is normal. However, being there made me realize how much we are CONDITIONED to fear and think the worst of people, and then we react swearing we know intentions because that is how it plays out in the news, in the movies, the 60 minutes docu-series and the like.
I was MORE than reassured of the safety of Croatia before I went, from other travelers, and even when speaking with the Air bnb hosts they all said you could go out at any hour of the night and be fine. Locals don’t really mind their kids being out and going out at any hour. They can’t recall crimes there to have stories to tell. It made me question so much about America (and why our crime rate is so high) and also, how much fear is instilled in us that we almost stay in place, OR we only trust hotels and resorts to assure safety.
This reality hit me on so many levels. I was focusing on all these fearful possibilities, and creating them in my mind based off of what I see on tv! Since coming back from Croatia, I take the news with a grain of salt. Essentially, they show you what THEY want to and it alters you perception of the world. Then when you get out and meet people, you realize a lot of the fearful narratives exist in your mind, and there are SO many good people on this planet, but there is a historical system, both spoken and unspoken that cause us to fear one another. Travel helps me find places where historically love and unity are what prevail, not fear and isolation.
I remember being on the plane flying to the Bahamas, having a moment looking around at all the people on the plane and realizing how we don’t speak to each other. We’ve heard 1 too many bad stories or people have planted cynicism in their minds of how the world is, that having faith in humanity has dwindled down.
On our baecation to Cuba, everyone was so scared for us. We came back and we got so many questions about our safety and yet while there we felt so safe and welcomed. And the truth of this quote hit home; “There is nothing to fear but fear itself!”
After I got past the fear, and spoke with the police about how I was feeling, I was given the raw truth about blacks and how Croatians see them (there are SO many lessons I want to share with you all, but I really am trying to be considerate of the reading time you so generously give to each blog post). The police woman explained to me that when Croatians see black people, they love them. They know that if you are black and have made it to Croatia then you must not be anything like THEY may see on TV. They will welcome you the same, and to them YOU are the exotic one, and they want to see, and welcome you, because they don’t see many in their lifetime!
Can you imagine how all these different realities are hitting me like a ton of bricks?! I was in a country that wasn’t looking at me as a possible criminal but one that wanted to embrace everything I am. From them loving my hair, and my skin, I once thought that this a love I could only give myself or get from “my own.” So much growth happened on the solo adventure, my soul craves to see both the harsh and lovely truths they DON’T show on the news. I no longer care for false narratives, but I’m a happy student of life. I’ve learned more about the world TRAVELING it, then I could in a text book or news coverage. I encourage you all to be willing to be afraid, but be willing to try and learn in spite of that fear.
Below are pics from one of many self loving moments where I was at peace and taking in everything I was learning, growing, and maturing to be. I know some of my luvs can relate to the feelings I had of fear, I’m here as messenger of what is other side of it. Start to identify your fears and overcome them one at a time. Life is a journey long enough to conquer that which is within you.
