thirtysixer

That first step.. Its always the hardest part. You can prepare for it all you want; testing your equipment, reading blogs from past vagabonds, but ripping yourself from your routine, your comforts and the people in your life, it’s never easy. But I knew, the juice was worth the squeeze.

If you have the strength to take that first step, infinite possibilities lie before you.

Just getting to Yorktown was a fiasco. I had intended to leave 3 weeks prior to when I did.

I decided to visit my girl Anqi for the weekend in College Park, MD before I left, and then get a ride to Yorktown on Monday. Monday turned to Wednesday, a weekend turned into a week, a week into three. I don’t regret it a single bit. I was having a great time with all my friends in MD, my home-state, and more or less living with a girl that I loved.

I left North Carolina with the intention of having the most tear-jerking, heart-throbbing, intense adventure possible. I’d argue that I succeeded, but indeed everything has a price.

Your personal relationships will dissipate, your body will suffer, and your money will certainly vanish.

But fear-not, young-vagabond, new relationships await you. And some old ones will only get stronger.

On the road you have a lot of time to think. Nearly all your thoughts in the beginning are of where you WERE. You may try to plan where you WILL BE, but the flow soon whisks you away. The only thing you need to focus on is where you are RIGHT NOW. Focus on the people around you. Focus on the emptiness of the road, and the strength you can draw from being alone. The world is full of wonders, don’t let them go to waste.