Everyone does summer differently.
Whether you choose to stay in Gainesville, fetch people coffee in a big city at an internship or hibernate back home for three months, no other summer option is as ostentatious as the study abroad. Going abroad for a summer, or traveling abroad for any amount of time, is almost always an eye-opening, life-changing experience that will force you to question almost every thought you’ve ever had. This year a new trend has emerged the champion amongst the studier abroaders: the travel blog.
Obviously travel blogs are as old as the Internet itself. Keeping a personal travel diary probably began right after the Egyptians figured out papyrus, but this year it seems like every girl (yes, it’s only girls, deal with it) is jumping in the WordPress bandwagon to document all the glamour shots they take in front of European landmarks and every pastry they eat because Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Snapchat wasn’t enough.
Every time I see an update from these blogs all I can ask myself is “Why?” They all follow the same basic formula and offer no new perspectives. They went to an iconic landmark. It was beautiful. Words cannot describe it. Someone fell or something else mildly funny happened. The hotel is shit, but had a beautiful view. Europeans are so much hotter than Americans. Repeat until returned home.
Via: youtube
Here’s the issue with these travel blogs: They don’t provide the truth behind the trip. The writers only scratch the surface of what happened and never delve into what’s going to make the trip memorable to them. They don’t write about how they peed in the streets of Paris or vommed in front of the Coliseum. They fail to mention who’s shacking up with whom. The whole blog is a façade of discretion and honestly, it’s not that interesting. But maybe that’s exactly the point.
Maybe these blogs are to portray an image of sophistication, that because you’ve been to all the places and seen all the things, you’re more knowledgeable about the world than your readers. Maybe the blogs serve as humble bragging, like posting a daily 700-word Instagram post.
Maybe the posts are for your family. Who else is gonna be the first person to read your post each night? Mom. And who’s gonna email it to all her girlfriends and the rest of your family? Mom. You don’t need Mom knowing about these things, or her nosy friend Linda. You can tell her when you get home, but you don’t need her asking all those questions over FaceTime during your 15 minutes a week or over email. It’s just not necessary to deal with. Expect her to complain about Linda asking too many questions when you get back.
Via: Huffington Post
The only purpose behind these blogs that I can think of is that ultimately, they’re for yourself. You choose to include what you want to remember. It’s quite possible you don’t want to remember trying to make out with one of the Buckingham Palace guards, I don’t know your life. These blogs are just tools for you to document your trip for yourself. If anyone wants to read it, so be it, but you’re not seeking any special attention just because you’re no longer paying with green money.
Travel blogs also beg the question why other summer activities don’t have blogs. Why can’t I blog about coming home and working at camp for my fifth year? (Because parents will complain.) Why can’t people in Gainesville blog about their summer adventures, or what life is like navigating the professional world and a new city as an intern? The easy answer is that these don’t make for good Instagram photos, and thus don’t make good blog posts. Really, they’re just not as #flawless as the summer abroad.
I can make fun all I want, but kudos to you guys for keeping a blog going. I know I couldn’t do it. Any free time I’d have between all the day trips and “studying,” I’d be drinking, eating or sleeping. Keep them going, but maybe spice them up a little.
Featured photo courtesy of: nakedenvelope.com
