Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of new followers by travelers and travel photographers on Instagram. I mention this because there’s been a trend of them unfollowing me shortly after, presumably because I don’t post relevant pictures there very often. When this first started happening, I felt a bit depressed, but now I figure no harm, no foul. Here’s why.

My whole post revolves my pet peeve of those travelers have the abundance of time and money to travel and summarily post nothing but tales and anecdotes about their exploits. Yes, these people tend to be the ones who’ve monetized their blogs and/or get sponsored by companies and hotels to go where they go. I also do realize that the work those particular travelers have put in to get to that point is absolutely massive, and it’s legitimately a full time job. I get it. But, I feel that sometimes there’s a disconnect between them and the rest of us, which is what annoys me. As I’ve made it abundantly clear, travel happens when I have time and can afford it. Consequently, I don’t post about travels all the time, although I try to compensate by a) posting higher quality pictures when abroad and b) magnifying the beauty that is around me when still in Moscow. So, that’s what you’d see if you make the dodgy decision to follow me on social media. (Also, if you’re going to ask me about my next destination, actually comment on a topical picture. It’s just weird when you pose the question under a picture that’s, say, something sports related. Thanks.) Furthermore, I understand there’s pressure of sorts to constantly post stuff if your shtick is travel. I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to deal with that, and frankly, the quality gets diluted when a billion pictures are taken of the same general spots. Facetious I am, but the idea still stands.

This leads me to my next thing: I unapologetically live a life outside of travel for the better part of the year. Scandalous, I know. Call it exploring the known or spending quality time with the small things, but it’s rewarding! Not being forced to rely on a ever-shifting conditions for stimulation (aka the scheduling) happens thanks to other diverse interests of mine. And barracking off of that point, you learn how to better appreciate things when there’s more things to reference. For example, it’s fun to compare and contrast Russian music (which is pretty hilarious, intentionally and unintentionally) with mainstream stuff. There is nothing wrong with the normalcy of sitting pat. Look, visiting plenty of new places is certainly a blast, but in my humble opinion, attempting to maintain that nomadic lifestyle cannot be healthy. Plus, using their social media content as a basis, it seems like there’s nothing more to those travelers-it seems…superficial. A while back I read an article about how essentially, these lads are overwhelmed with their travels. They’re being eaten alive by their passion, which shouldn’t happen. See what I mean when I say that it’s all too much? Being a multi-dimensional amateur blogger ironically bestows the right to more creativity and freedom that these guys seek.

To conclude yet another semi-deluded rant, why I stopped caring if these people don’t care to follow my daily lives is that I don’t need that validation. We all move at our own paces, and if they don’t care to stop and smell the roses every so often, it’s their loss.