“Aren’t you nervous?!”
I get this
question all the time, from friends, family, random people on Facebook I
haven’t talked to in ages. Short answer, yes, extremely. I’m scared I am going
to fall flat on my face. That I’ll make it a month and have to spend every cent
I have to get home. While that may not sound inspiring for you to take up your
own adventure, consider this. What keeps me going, from not letting that little
voice in my head take control and drive me to the brink of insanity? Simply,
thinking of the worst-case scenario. What is the WORST thing I can imagine
happening. Some people might jokingly say, “getting eaten by something”, but
really, what is the worst that could happen?
For me the
answer is simple, disappointment. Creating this grand illusion of this crazy
adventure and having it all crumble around me. But what does that really mean?
Does it mean I only stay for a month and get home sick and have to fly home?
Guess what, not many people I know get to take month long vacations to another
continent. Does it mean I can’t find work and I’m forced to take a crappy job I
hate simply to make ends meat while I’m over there? Well guess what I can do
when I have a day off, go to the beach… in Australia!
I guess the
point of this is the more I’ve thought about all the things that could go
wrong, the more I realize how they pale in comparison to all the things that
could go right. Yes it would suck to have a failed adventure overseas, but at
least I was overseas, and what if it doesn’t suck? The things I can
conceptualize and worry about are really the only parts of this adventure I can
comprehend. But things going right, things being incredible, having the
adventure of a lifetime, I can think of certain things I’d like to do along the
way but I can’t paint a clear portrait. And to me that’s what makes it all
worthwhile.
It’s easy
for us to be cynics in this society, it’s so much harder to hope for the
brightest future, and dare to dream big. If you’re like me you know that’s what
makes us want to go, to roam, to travel in the first place. We long for the
unknown, but we can see only the darkness of possible despair. To those who
feel this, I implore you, go towards the unknown, the light is blinding but
once your eyes adjust you will be exposed to a whole new world of
possibilities, one where the pros greatly outweigh the cons. And when you get
there you will see that no longer is there any negativity in your travels,
there is simply the experience. When we can separate “good” and “bad”, “fun”
and “boring” we start to see a clearer picture coming together. That picture is
what drives us all, the unknowingness, the thrill; of adventure…
No comments:
Post a Comment