I present you the 10 Commandments of Dating and Travel, be sure to read them all, print them and hand them over to that special someone next time you’re ready to hit the road. Are you ready?
#01: It’s not about the future; it’s about the present.
Thinking about what might happen tomorrow will only distract you from fully enjoying what’s right in front of your eyes. Yes, saying goodbye will be hard but that’s why saying hello should be more important in life.
Don’t take the other person for granted and cherish the present more than the future.
#02: Don’t make promises you cannot keep.
In my previous life as a player in Mexico, I used to make fake promises about wanting to date someone for real when I was only after a one-week stand. Traveling changed me since now I’m just straightforward with what I want and what I can promise. And trust me, this world traveler always keeps his word.
Honesty is key and you will be only shooting yourself in the foot if you decided to lie to people you want to get involved with. Tell the truth all the time and you’ll get far.
Date a man who travels?
#03: Non-exclusivity is best, put your couple to the test.
In my life as a world traveler, I have met all sorts of couples that travel with or without their other half and after interviewing (and yes, getting involved with) some of them, the general agreement was that jealousy is best put to rest with a non-exclusive relation. When love is strong, nothing else should matter (not even a handsome Latin Lover like me).
There are plenty of fish in the sea and well, every once in a while there’s nothing wrong with trying to catch them all. Like Pokemon!
#04: Long-distance only works when there’s an endgame.
Oh, long-distance, that dreadful word that is known to break men and women alike. If you ask me, it will only work when both know that there’s an endgame in sight. When there’s not, there will always be conflict since it will be hard to see a moment in time when both people are together in the same place.
If you’re dating a world traveler, don’t try to tie him/her down. It won’t work. And if you’re dating a non-traveler, don’t try to force him/her to travel with you. It’s just not happening.
#05: Get out of your comfort zone and date outside usual places.
So hey, let’s assume you’re already on the road and you’re dating either a local or another world traveler. Where would you take them? Well, in my experience, locals love to explore the places they already love with world travelers since that way they can better connect and relate to each other.
If you’re both world travelers in a new city, then how about doing some touristy sightseeing together? Sure, you might not remember who is that blonde girl you were kissing at the Eiffel Tower but hey, there’s always a small chance that you will!
#06: It’s those little moments the ones you remember the most.
Speaking of which, in my experience as a world traveler, I have come to enjoy the little moments more than the grandiose ones. Sure, exploring the many wonders of the world on your own is a very wonderful experience but happiness is better when it’s shared.
Don’t try to make everything special, just realize that everything already is special and it is up to you to remember it as such. Plus, sunsets are beyond awesome!
#07: Diversify your dating pool outside of Tinder, Couchsurfing and Hostels.
After almost one year of traveling in Europe as a single and handsome World Traveler, I have grown tired of meeting almost the same type of people in Tinder, Couchsurfing and Hostels. It became such a tired clichéd that I decided to become a celibate monk during all of January. Crazy, uh?
So how did the Man of Wonders get out of his funk? Believe it or not, Instagram and the positive influence of his incredible friends who encouraged him to get out of his comfort zone and diversify his dating choices (and seriously, how come I ended up talking about me in the third person?).
#08: Don’t judge a non-traveler; try to understand them.
As much as I wouldn’t like this to be true, the fact remains that not everyone is able to afford traveling the world like I do. And besides, not everyone wants to actually travel as much as I do. When I was younger, I saw it as a lack of love and I was hurt because of that. Now that I’m older and wiser, I have come to accept that all life choices should to be respected no matter what.
Don’t get hurt because the person you’ve been dating for a while doesn’t wants to travel with you, just go by yourself and enjoy the freedom that travel will give you (plus, you’re already following Commandment #03, right?).
#09: Don’t fall in love. Seriously, don’t.
Love is such a strong emotion that is very hard to define. The last time I felt it was almost one year ago and ever since I have built up an Armor of Wonders (patent pending) in order to protect me from feeling it and getting hurt again. Falling in love with a world traveler is hard. Falling in love as a world traveler? That’s harder.
So in the end, this is probably the most important commandment of them all: Don’t fall in love during your travels if the other person is not willing to be a partner in your adventures. Otherwise, what’s the point??
#10: Don’t be sad once it’s over, be happy that it happened.
Let me ask you a question: Imagine for a second that somehow you got informed that the main characters of your favorite Disney movie divorced and never spoke again to each other after the credits rolled. Would you feel sad because their love story is over? Or would you feel happy because said love story happened in the first place?
Life is a movie with as many sequels as you want them to exist. Some will have endings of sorrow and some will have endings of happiness but the bad times will never be able to negate the good ones. Never. Nothing last forever and it is wise to understand that everything ends in one-way or the other.
So what’s the best you can do when it comes to dating and travel? You can just enjoy life. Be yourself. Travel. Love. And keep moving forward.
Awesomesauce, uh?
