When I was a child, I spent 90% of my time outside either running through the woods, doing laps around our makeshift dirtbike track that we had made for the little Yamaha that my parents had bought for us, or racing our red wagons down steep grassy hills trying to knock each other off before we reached the bottom.
As I became a teenager, we moved into the city. This is the when I picked up scootering. I became pretty good thanks to the countless hours that I spent at the skate park. I had a good relationship with the owner (Lloyd Bureau) of a company out of Quebec where I would buy all of my new parts. After I had begun running the annual Kiwanis/QCS Belleville Scooter Competition, Lloyd had asked me to be a part of his team as a sponsored rider. We had done many tours and trips all over Ontario and Quebec.
These years were the best years due to all of the awesome times I had travelling with friends, meeting new friends and riding my scooter. My competition grew every year and ran for 3 years consecutively as well.
I got a little older and started riding less. And when I did ride, I didn't enjoy it as I once did. I began to take up a new hobby, photography. As a lot of the people I travelled with had big 'fancy' cameras, I had lots of people to photograph with. As I spent more time using my camera than my scooter, I realized that I didn't enjoy scootering much at all any more.
Beginning the next part of my life using my camera to express my creative ends, I did just what I had done before. Practiced and learned as often as I could. I spent all of my money on newer and better gear and was still spending all of my time outdoors.
Some of the gear that I have acquired.
It wasn't until May of this year that I had the opportunity to go on a trip with my dad. My older sister had been to Africa, my younger brother had been to Mexico, but I hadn't been anywhere other than the Unite States. We began exploring a few ideas of where we would like to go.
With me being so adventurous, I didn't want to go to Cuba, or the Dominican (etc.) where people commonly go on vacations. I wanted to go somewhere exciting and new. We settled on spending 2 weeks in Thailand.
I can't even describe how awesome this trip was. I saw the most amazing secluded island beaches, ate some of the best food and even went to a coffee plant at the top of a mountain. This is when everything changed.
Breathtaking views.
I got to start an awesome new job with a travel agency that was full time, with benefits and good salary. I thought my life was heading in all the right directions. After being in my new job for a few months, I'm becoming very unhappy with things.
I wake up every day just craving adventure and new experiences, which is the opposite of sitting at a desk everyday. Don't get me wrong, it is a great job and a great company to work for, I just can't spend my life working on a computer for 8 hours a day so I can have my 2 weeks of vacation each year..
All I want to be doing is travelling the world and sharing my experiences through my photographs. Being outside hiking, camping, biking, exploring. That is what I need to be doing. I can't comprehend the concept of doing something that makes me unhappy. I want to enjoy my life and live it to the fullest! I don't want to be working away, wasting all of my time at a job that is at the same building doing the same boring thing day after day.
"I quit my job, bought a plane ticket and moved half way around the world."
We've all heard those stories, but what is the secret. My dream is to get up and just leave everything behind. But because I am a part of this thing called life, I need a way to pay for food, transportation,
accommodations etc. It's not easy.
Now you're probably wondering how any of this relates to the title, 'Courage'. It's one thing to try to make your way across the world. But it's another to do it alone. Don't get me wrong, I love doing things on my own. When you get into a tough situation, it's always better to have someone to back you up on your decisions and or offer suggestions. Not only when you need a hand, but when you have those amazing experiences as well. I don't want to experience all of these adventures and not have someone to share them with.
I don't really know how I wanted this blurb to end. I guess I just want to know if there is anyone else out there in the same boat as me. All I want to do is live a life I can look back on and say, "I'm glad that I didn't waste my time working my life away." "I'm glad that I left." "I'm glad that I went there." "I'm glad I did that." And, "I wouldn't change it for the world."
I can't live a life where I get to enjoy what makes me happy for 2 weeks out of the year. It only makes sense to do what you love every day of the year and nothing less. All it's going to take for me to be doing what I want to be doing is courage. I can tackle the other issues that will arise as they come. There is nothing else I can do other than to just go.
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Thanks for the input!