Anxious Traveler

One Trip At a Time

  • My 1st Plane Trip

    I grew up in the quiet, sprawling countryside of Southeast Georgia, where the pine trees seemed to stretch endlessly towards the sky. My family was not wealthy; in fact, we were quite poor. Yet, despite the hardships, my parents and maternal grandmother instilled in me a deep sense of ambition and the belief that I…

This is how it all started….

Growing up in a small, impoverished household in Vidalia, Georgia, surrounded by classmates who could afford to explore the world, I dreamed of a day when I could travel beyond the borders of my hometown. The idea of meeting people I’d only read about or seen on TV fueled my desire to explore distant lands. But when the time finally came, it wasn’t money that kept me grounded—it was something far more insidious: an anxiety disorder.

For years, this invisible barrier kept me from boarding a plane. When I reached my late twenties and met my future husband, he helped me to manage my anxiety and take my first flight.  Now I travel as often as I can and work diligently to try and use my anxiety in a positive way that makes my travels more enjoyable.

If you’re an anxious traveler like I was, I hope my stories and experiences will inspire you to dust off that passport and begin your own journeys.

Natasha Niemi

Writer & Anxious Traveler