So it begins...

With the end of Graduate Student Orientation at Kent State University, and a whirlwind weekend of goodbyes and farewells, I packed down the Neon with the remainder of my belongings (which still more than filled the tiny little car) and took off for Illinois. Now I have found myself catching up on some sleep, some reading, and preparing for the next journey that lies ahead. Life is but a series of these, and the current one is pretty exciting.

We sat down today to hammer out some details, and to get the ball rolling on longer term accomplishments, such as acquiring a visa, that need to be completed before we leave. Little by little, as each dimension of the trip comes into clearer focus, the reality seems all the more tangible, and the blood that courses through my heart gains force as it rushes through my body, filling my mind with the imagination of a reunion with long-time friends on the beaches of Hawaii, and working in a pub and in the fields of the beautiful New Zealand countryside. Heck, we may even make it to the prayer-filled places of India that Elizabeth Gilbert describes in her book now movie smash.

The truth though, is that the journey is all of these things, and yet none of them. Certainly every single thing we do at this point in time will come into play later on, but I believe that even without this planning, the trip would still happen. Why do things these days need be explicitly planned? Why do we need to have a hold on what will happen in every second of every day? What happens if this rhythm is broken? What happens if we try to step out? Is there life outside what I have known for the duration of my life up to this point?

I understand that some seek the opposite of what I am describing, that order is something they have never experienced, but for me, this is the very thing that holds me down, chains me, and from which I seek to be freed! I desire to free my mind and my person by going on a journey unbounded and unhindered by all of the conventions of modern society. Yes they are nice, yes they may make life more comfortable, but do you know what? The comfortable life, for me, is boring! Predictability gives no chance for one to act on whim for spontaneity and quick-thinking. Structure, organization, user-friendliness, these are the catch-words of a society that is focused on control and order, and in which I feel there is no room for opportunities. I need out, I need a breath of fresh air where life is not so expertly and precisely divided and then driven into the ground. I will give up profit, personal gain, everything in order to feel at peace, in order to feel that I have found some measure of respite in this world that calls us to work always to the n-th degree.

Perhaps I am naive, and someday I will learn, but for now I am the adventurous soul who takes off with two brothers, to planned, but not charted territory, to see just how far our wits and courage will take us. Join us on this journey. Be a part of what we seek, and we encourage you even as we embark on our journey, to seek out the journey that you must take in your life to become the best and most fulfilled version of yourself!