Meandering

Convinced that meaning was not to be found in my current environment, I decided to seek it on the other side of the world.

Whether studying at university, living at home, or working at a summer camp, that elusive sense of belonging persisted in evading me no matter where I went. Like a puzzle piece without a board I wondered where a fit was to be found. Somehow I decided that my salvation lay in Australia. So, just days into my third decade of life, I shipped myself thousands of miles across the ocean, so unfathomable in magnitude, to that distant land of kangaroos, vast landscapes, and endearing accents.

Years of existence in the nomadic style of Chris McCandless and exploring Australia before moving on to Thailand, Cambodia, Tibet, and Eastern Europe dazzled my young and ambitious mind. My trip did not ascribe to any of the rough plans I made from the get go and my rollercoaster ride of emotion spanned only one continent but my time there left an indelible mark on my being.

Perhaps I could have saved a couple thousand dollars in airfare and simply walked across state lines but that would not have measured up to my zealous youthful idealism of travel should be. The toll the trip exacted on me was intense but it was a worthy tradeoff for the unparalleled richness of experience. With great challenge comes great growth.