Two years ago, I was starting my adventure…. The adventure of a life time I would say… My friend Bryton was on the line of going and I would preach these words. I cant believe I even contemplated the ticket. What the fuck was I thinking?
I haven’t told too many people this but the day that my cousin got married was the day I finally made the decision. They had the wedding in the church but the after party was at the house that she grow up in. This was the second time this happened. My cousin, colin had his wedding there. I got really drunk by the end of the night…. classic me, I love getting trashed with the fam. Whenever I start drinking….. Sidenote: The last time I drank, I ended up crying about space on the edge of some beautiful lake in CO.
Anyway, by the end of the night, I was happy for my cousin but all I thought about was how quick it was. She just got out of college, got a job, and now she is getting married. She has one kid and another on the way now. She was in a rush in my opinion. I mean I know everyone is different but wow. She got pregnant on her honeymoon.
I got trashed that night, and ended up sleeping on the sidewalk outside my cousin’s house…. I woke up drove to my house and bought the fucking ticket. Non-refundable. If I chickened out, I would have lost a grand.
For a year, I travelled through Southeast Asia, and you know what, I fucking learned so much about myself. I lived in a backpack for months… I had absolutely nothing and you know what it was awesome. The only focus was what adventure do you tackle next? I would wake up, put on the shirt I washed in the sink the night prior and do something awesome. The most stressful part of my day was determining what paradise I was headed to next. How many people can say that they woke up every day for more than a year and stressed about what mountain to climb or what village to go to next.
Maria sent my a picture of where we were 1 year ago. We were in the Philippines. We just got there. Began our crazy trip together. It was insane. I will never talk to anybody but Maria about it. It was crazy. Thats a hell of a story.
Anyway, what I am trying to get at is opening up to a new culture and environment has taught me so much. I don’t know if you can get that kind of psychological education any other way.
. The success of my day depended on one thing, myself. There was little influence from family and friends from Connecticut. I was my own man. Thats it. If I was depressed, it was on me. If I was high on life, it was on me. If I got sick, I took care of myself. There were no other factors. I needed to perform for my own sake. Nobody gave a shit about how my day ended or began. Rid yourself of native influence and your true colors will come out. In other words, see how other cultures see things and learn where your true tenancies lie.
Wow that was a really good line….. Okay Im tired…. I am going to sleep.
ChiricoChronicles 