Ready...Set...Go

A year ago I was settling down. I bought my house and was breathing easier. The fear of not knowing where I would be in a year had been killing me. I traded worrying about rent increasing to worrying if property taxes would increase (no one ever talks about how similar those two things are just saying). I was readying for my graduation from a college degree that frankly took too long to earn. I was starting to wonder what was next.

There's this generally assumed step by step guide for life accomplishments. Highschool and first jobs, college and first serious relationships, post college career start, engagement, marriage, kids or pets, vacation planning, first home, new car, plan for retirement... yada yada yada. This has always rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe its because it was pushed on my from an early age. Hell. Growing up I was expected to be married with kids (yes, kids plural) by the time I was 20. Call it a defiant streak or a parent might call it rebellion or misguided goals, but I knew this wasn't for me. Knowing what wasn't next helped me build dreams.

- Don't get me wrong. The marriage and family thing is still something I want. I would love nothing more than sharing Christmas with a partner I deeply love and spoiling kids with the most ridiculous LEGO sets. Being a bento box mom is probably not for me but you know what I mean. But I reject the idea that I have to jump right into that. If I've learned anything valuable with my private struggles in the last few years, its that all I truly have is myself and all I truly know is now. I can plan, I can dream, but I have to make things happen for myself. No one else is going to do it for me. No one else can help me with my dreams as much as little ol me. -

Anyway. What am I doing? What is the point of this blog? Why oh why am I writing paragraphs on paragraphs about nothing in particular? I've decided my next step. I will be traveling. I'll be crashing in different cities for roughly a month at a time for the next year of my life. Maybe I'll have some stories to tell by the end of it. Maybe you can experience those stories through these posts. Or maybe this is just the most elaborate and public diary of events I could keep. Regardless, I would like it if I could have your company this next year. Wanna travel with me, friend?