first post jitters

“there was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.” 

- jack kerouac

the first post on a new blog is always a bit intimidating. i take that back. it's very intimidating, which seems appropriate as the subject of this blog is also intimidating. you see, at the end of august, when all of my friends are making frantic trips to bed bath & beyond, playing name games at orientation, and moving into their dorms, i won't be joining them. like them, i'll be spending this coming year meeting new people, living in unfamiliar places, learning, and working hard. but when i leave my house on august 24 with a suitcase and a backpack in tow, i won't be heading off to campus. instead, i'll be boarding a plane to south america.

"what made you decide to do this?" is the common refrain when i tell people i'm taking a gap year. i have a lot of stock answers, but i haven't yet figured out quite how to articulate the real reason. i want to  avoid getting burnt out by school, rekindle my love of learning, expand my cultural horizons, i tell people, but that's not the full truth. have you ever heard of restless legs syndrome? if there's a metaphorical equivalent to that, i have it. so while my gap year is partially an opportunity for me to assuage this thirst for travel by, well, traveling, it will also be a journey for me to seek self peace- happiness in the moment, satisfaction with the here and now- my current lack of which is more of a personal failing than a point of pride. not to mention i'll be spending the better part of this year traveling and hanging out with one of my best friends, marit, before we head to university on separate continents. 

while i've worked hard to save up funds, plan my year in a low-budget manner, and independently make travel arrangements, i'm also very aware of how lucky i am to even be able to consider a gap year. i never want to be anything less than grateful for the opportunities i've been given. my goal is to spend this year giving back as much as i take, and i have no doubt that throughout the rest of my life, i'll continue to reap the benefits of this year.

i want to stay amazed, stay humble, stay fascinated, take nothing from the universe that i cannot repay in kind, and i want to document everything that happens along the way. so in short, that's why i've made this blog.

x

msb