An inferiority complex.
Such a diagnosis leads some to build tall towers boldly emblazoned with the family name. To seek riches, or internet infamy.
My own complex led me to the far-flung Fijian dependency of Rotuma. Why yes, tale as old as time.
While my travels to date seemed adventurous to many, they felt tame compared those of my traveling peers. Study abroad? English-speaking Cambridge. Watson Fellowship? I traversed Eastern and Western Europe while my fellow-fellows hitchhiked on boats around the Indian ocean, or studied trance dancing in Northern Africa.
Even my time working in Antarctica was, truth be told, rather easy. Sure, I slept in a tent on the snow, but someone else covered all my booking details, food, and housing. Heck, even my haircuts were provided on the Ice.
So I was determined to find Real Adventure after my time at McMurdo Station on the southern continent. Where else to find it, but the last page of the Lonely Planet guidebook to Fiji. The last page, that’s where the real oddball stuff is, right? So flipping to the final page, that’s how I decided on Rotuma.
elizabeth lindau 
If you’re talking remote, you’re talking Rotuma. OMG. Good post. Why don’t you flesh it out a bit and round off with a couple additional paragraphs?
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Thanks for the feedback, Pat! I’m trying to experiment with different formats, to see which (if any) seem to appeal to more readers. I did add a second article about landing on Rotuma, and I should write something more about our actual experience on the island.
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Well! My advice is write for yourself, then with an eye for the reader.
This reader here read a post about self-doubt and how you tried to address it: “While my travels to date seemed adventurous to many, they felt tame compared those of my traveling peers. Study abroad? English-speaking Cambridge. Watson Fellowship? I traversed Eastern and Western Europe while my fellow-fellows hitchhiked on boats around the Indian ocean, or studied trance dancing in Northern Africa.” So somewhere toward the end I was expecting you to re-address that premise and show how this trip either helped, hindered, or did nothing to deal with the core issue of inferiority. Is overcoming inferiority dependent on external exploits, those things, or lack of them, that may have caused the issue in the first place, or on some process toward maturity where confidence is more grounded in a sense of self, regardless of exploits? Up for grabs. But it would be rewarding if this piece took a stand on that!
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Thanks! Coming soon …
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