Sep 23, 2013

You may be inclined to ask (as most are), why? Why the shit at the age of 30 years young, with a graduate degree under my belt, a fine little house in Western NY, a stable job, and the inevitability of my eggs drying up at any moment, am I packing my bags and embarking with my hubby on an adventure around the world with no real plan of where to go or for how long?

As I’m sure you can imagine, this is a super involved answer with a whole lot of factors, but if I had to break down how it began into two words, those words would be Office Space.

When Office Space came out in 1999, I was a sophomore in High School. Anyone who has seen this movie should know how and why this forever altered how I would think about what I wanted out of life. I watched that movie and became so frightened of the thought of living that kind of existence that I was quick to brush it off as something that could never happen to me. And if you haven’t seen it, that's just crazy. Go watch it.

Fast-forward 13 years, and let’s just say my life had become more like that satire than I ever thought it would. I wanted a change. I needed a change.

Now I recognize that I am beyond fortunate to even have a job right now, and more over a simple office job. I really do know that. But I just dont want that kind of life. It's not that I don't want to work or am lazy. Don't get me started on the whole "this generation is lazy" vs "the baby boomers ruined the country" argument. Believe me, I'm a hard worker, just like the rest of my family, I just want something different, and traveling is part of that.

Traveling is in my blood. My family is full of lifelong travelers and my parents took my sisters and me on adventures starting at an early age. I’m lucky enough to have been all over the world already and I can never seem to get enough. I get itchy feet constantly and always feel the need to shake things up and experience more.

I had always wanted to travel the world long term, but never had the means to do so. So when I realized that Matt and I both had jobs with which saving money was possible, no kids, and an amazing support network around us, I thought, this is it. I pitched the idea to Matt, and after some lengthy consideration, we figured there’s no time like the present.

The whole Office Space thing acted as the spark for me for sure, but since we made the decision to go, it’s become about so much more. This trip is as much about me challenging myself, as it is me just wanting to see the world. Probably more.

I want to be forced out of my comfort zone. I want to be in situations that I would never voluntarily put myself in. I want to get to know myself and what I’m capable of. I want to shock myself. I want to experience the world outside of my own and see how everyone else is faring. I want to get inspired by them and learn from them and spawn new ideas because of them.

Change is inevitable on this trip. And even though it’s uncertain, it sure is exciting.

 

 

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