To Infinity and Beyond

I feel good about the fact that, for the most part, I live my life free of any vices. That is, except for one:

Adventure.

I'll admit, I've been addict for a while now. Starting in 8th grade, I met a set of friends who loved to explore and experience the wonderful space that is Boulder, CO. My summer was spent surfing from couch to couch (when I got around to sleeping) not being home for days at a time despite being less than a mile from home. Despite being a homebody, summer is a time to be OUT.

The most consistent way to get your fix is by traveling, especially to somewhere you've never been (or don't go often). So, I'll often go out of my way to go somewhere new. Luckily, this can be done on a budget in the form of Geohashing. During the latter part of high school in Houston, most weekends found my partner in crime (the lovely Jenny) and I traipsing off into some rural TX county in search of a point in space. There wouldn't be anything there, nor would we necessarily be able to even reach it (without a boat or helicopter), but that didn't matter. As is repeated all too often- it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey.

Speaking of trips, let me tell you about one of my favorites. During spring break my sophomore year of college, I went to visit friends in the Pacific northwest. But, I first had an a cappella competition in DC, so I needed to get creative with my transportation.

Flew from Detroit to Baltimore to ride in a van into DC on Friday afternoon. Sunday morning I flew out of Dulles, through LaGuardia, and straight through to Portland. Hung out there a few days (visiting the wonderful Andrew and Tyler), then I hopped on the Amtrak train up to Bellingham, WA (for special pizza time with Quinlan), and then a bus down to Seattle (where I had the chance to explore with Nearl for the weekend). From there, I flew straight home to DTW rounding out the adventure.

The best thing about that trip (besides seeing all of my friends) was that I purposely tried to get to as many new airports and cities as I could. In each new place, I made sure to take as much public transport as I could, as I feel like that's the best way to get to know a city. Be it train, bus, rail, or moving sidewalk, I'm on it. It's where you meet the people, the true lifeblood of your current locale.

Why does this matter to you, dear reader? Especially because I'm now working full time, I've realized it's not always that easy to adventure as much as you'd like. The beautiful thing about adventures though, is that size really doesn't matter. Your adventure doesn't need to be a grandiose trip around the world to be considered adventurous. Just something as small as leaving your comfort zone, your little bubble of humanity that's yours and yours alone.

It's all well and good that you've carved out your niche where you're happy (and everyone knows your name), but life isn't lived in a bubble. Take it from me and get out there. Scare yourself a little, and take that first step.