I spent a year abroad in my 20s and thought it cured my anxiety. I was wrong, but full-time travel helps me live with it.

Macie Strum has always been anxious — and has always wanted to see the world. Provided by Macie Strum Macie Strum has been anxious for as long as she can remember — but she's also always wanted to see the world. A breakup and two layoffs left her feeling stuck, so she began traveling full-time in 2024. Nearly three years of travel didn't cure her anxiety, but it helped her stop letting fear dictate her life. By the time I was a teenager, two seemingly contradicting things had become fundamental parts of my identity: I was deeply anxious, and I desperately wanted to see the world . As a kid, I worried about trivial matters, like whether doors were locked and faucets weren't running before bed, to the heat death of the universe in trillions of years. At the same time, I was deeply fascinated by geography and history.