A year ago today, October 22, 2008, I took off from Newark Airport on my way to Minneapolis for a connecting flight to Honolulu, HI and the beginning of my round the world (RTW) trip.
It is really hard to believe a year has come and gone.
What was one thing I pulled out of all this?
Time is flying. Any time not pursuing what makes you happy is time wasted.
I think about what my life would have been like had I done the 'safe' thing - Get a job. There is no guarantee that I would have even found a job or it be something I would have enjoyed. And as we know, there is no such thing as a 'safe' job these days.
Simply put my life would not be as rich or interesting if I didn't take the trip.
I would not have met all the great people from Hilo to Cape Town to Paris to New York and all points in between.
I would not have realized what I am completely capable of. I am still finding that out everyday.
When faced with a choice - always choose the thing you have never done before, the thing that makes you a little nervous, scared even. Because most times your wild imagination is making it 100 times more horrible than it actually turns out to be.
I was looking over the blog archives and I wanted to pick out some posts that meant something to me over the last year. Or they got a reaction out of readers. Or they were just fun stories that highlight a facet of the trip in their own way.
How To Fulfill Your Dream of Travel...And Other Things You Thought Impossible
I'm trying to live this out right now. The ebook package is coming after some revisions. Sign up for updates.
Wrapping Up Ethiopia
The land of coffee ceremonies, marriage proposals and horrible Internet access taught me something about being an American.
You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers
I like how everything I packed is what I would pack if I leaving today. Happy about that. You don't take 6 months of clothes for a 6 month trip. You take a week of clothes and you find a washer/dryer or someone to do laundry for you. The verdict on hostels - two thumbs WAY UP!
I can't look at a can of SPAM without needing some water. I'm sure someone has a blog about different McDonald's around the world. I should have taken more shots. I was fascinated by the menu items depending on the country.
Cambodia's Real Story - The People
Stop judging a book by its cover. I know why I went to Cambodia but why it popped in my head, I'm still not sure about. Does that make any sense? Regardless, glad I went. You stop feeling sorry for yourself when you realize millions of people would love to be in your position, no matter how horrible you think it is.
Instant Celebrity
My time as a superstar in Macau or Macao, whichever you prefer. Travel allows you to reinvent yourself. You can be anyone you want to be, you have a clean slate. Sometimes you don't have to do it because others do it for you. I still have no idea who they thought I was.
Check out the posts above, or choose a random topic in the sidebar to be taken to a different story. They all have something noteworthy, even to me re-reading them again for the first time in a while, and I lived through each one.
This week I found out I was selected by BootsnAll as one of the best round-the-world travel blogs. A complete surprise and extremely gratifying.
Lastly, I thank everyone who has supported this blog in the past year. I truly believe the best is yet to come...
Source: nodebtworldtravel.com
No comments:
Post a Comment