Travel 2

The second facebook note/post to be reposted here.

Alright, on monday I went to the post office and sent off for a passport. So step one for next summer's trip is in process. Currently my travel plans are up in the air, after running the numbers it came to light that a trip to europe would be more financially accessible as well as the fact that northern hemisphere summer is southern hemisphere winter. Traveling to australia in the middle of winter doesn’t seem like the most genius idea ever to me.

So once it was decided that the new destination would be europe, I wanted to look into what I'm going to need to take, where to go, what I want to see, etc. I was advised to sit and think about what it is that I'm looking for out of this trip. It's a good question to ask ones self when working out a potentially life changing event. I sat down to think after work the other day and what came to me was:

I want adventure.

I know people will see that and immediately think of every Indiana Jones movie or something of the sort. That's not what I mean though, I want adventure in the form of new experiences. I actually look forward to missing a bus or connection because it throws a wrench into the mix. It causes you to think on your feet and change your plans at a moments notice. That's the art of travel, realizing that you can always change your mind or change what you're doing. Up there with adventure, I want to see the world. I want spontaneity.

What really made me understand that this is what I want to do was thinking back to all those times a teacher asked me "in an ideal world, what would you do for a living?" the existential question that is supposed to help you find what career you should look into. Well, I generally answered either "I don't know" or "Travel. I would travel all the time and write about it"

of course one teacher said "well, pick something else" and another "I don't think thats a feasible goal." Hey, you're the ones that asked the question and said "in an ideal world" not me. But in all brutal honesty, My dream is to start traveling and never stop. If I could find a way to make it work and make some kind of living off of it, I would.

I realize that this is a dream of many a person. "what makes you any different?" I hear you cry. I don't think my ideal makes me any different than anyone else. I'm an optimist to a fault and I'm willing to work for what I want. If someone wanted me to travel to vietnam in the peak of the rainy season just to see if there’s a way to make a trip out of it. I'm there. Go through the middle east even when there’s a war on? You know I'd be there and write about it. "Oh, there’s a little possibility that you could be captured and killed" my response: when does my flight leave and what specifics do you want when I get there? Honestly there’s more of a chance of getting hit by lightning or any number of things. No matter the statistic, Its all chance. If it happens, it happens. It'll buff out one way or another. I don't necessarily think "everything happens for a reason" more so "everything happens."

Variety is the spice of life and I want to try as much of it as I can. I believe that there’s a certain element to people across the globe. I want to find it and experience it. I might not be the most fit, good looking, intelligent, street smart, or even dumbest guy ever, but I like to think that I can convey an idea through words on a page. So despite my possible delusions of grandeur, I'm an optimist. If there’s a possibility there, I'm going to take it.

next in my "Travel" series: gear and my minimalist packing goal. but that's another time.