What’s the Point?
Well, I caved. From the beginning I have been “anti-blog,“ for no good reason really. I was the same way about Twitter for a long time. Didn’t understand the point. Not sure I still do, to be honest. I am not sure what changed. It seems like if you are young and travel, the thing to do is to blog about it; to document your travels for your friends back home. I am not sure if most people blog because they enjoy expressing their thoughts and emotions or if they just want to rub their friends’ faces in the dirt of their travels. I am in the middle somewhere.
I am still unsure what my motivation is, or what I want to get out of this, but this is it. My first blog post. I guess the first item of business to take care of would be to explain how I got here. How did a kid from the suburbs of St. Louis, in the heart of the Midwest, end up starting a blog as a 27-year-old, living in a dorm room in Garmisch-Partinkirchen, Germany? It’s funny you ask…
Random is Life
I am not here in Germany for a reason. I can not pinpoint a specific event that lead me here. Life isn’t that simple…thankfully. Maybe it was my bad decisions that lead me to this beautiful city in the German Alps, traveling the world like I‘ve always dreamed. And, bad decisions, there have been aplenty. Was it me quitting two colleges that set the wheels in motion? Maybe it was messing up a relationship or two with a girl, not taking high school seriously, or losing focus on my career and quitting jobs that lead me here. Or, was it my good decisions in life that lead me to writing this blog while sitting in a bed smaller than I had as a child, in a former Nazi mental hospital, with $100 in my checking account and $7000 in school loan debt? Life is just a series of random events. All I know is I am here.
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
People have trouble understanding why I am here. They don’t get it. I am 27. I am supposed to have a full-time job with benefits. A house. A dog running around the backyard of that house, shitting everywhere. A kid running around the living room of that house, shitting everywhere. A 401k and IRA. Problem is, society has bludgeoned into our impressionable heads that this is supposed to be how you live your life. If not, you are a failure…an outcast. J.R.R. Tolkien said it best, and it is one of my favorite quotes. “Not all those who wander are lost.” To me, the journey IS my destination. I am content, no I take that back, I am completely happy moving around city to city, making new friends, seeing new places, living paycheck to paycheck. Who says what you are supposed to be doing at each age? It is bullshit, frankly. In my first week here I overheard a guy, no older than 22, say, “When I am 28, I better have a fucking mortgage and a house.” That is just a sad way to go through life. I don’t blame him though. Society, TV, Hollywood… everyone tells us we are a failure if we don’t make money…and lots of it. Look who Americans look up to. Their idols are the rich and famous, not the aspirational or inspiring. It is a sad, pathetic reality.
But, fear not, family and friends. I am not lost. I don’t need redirection. I admit, I have no clue what road I am going down, no clue where it is going to take me. There will be bumps in this road of life, no doubt. Hell, probably some nasty potholes and a few fender-benders mixed in too. I am willing and able to navigate those frustrations, hit the repair shop, and head out on the road again, because I know the wide open roads of life, where I can put the windows down, slam on the gas pedal, and blast my favorite Killers song, will make it all worth the while. No idea what direction this road is going, but I am sure as hell going to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Going Forward
I have no idea what is to come of this blog. Maybe this will be my last post. I wouldn’t be shocked, to be honest. It’s not like I have a pristine track record of following through with things. Do I chronicle my travels? Use this to vent? Keep in touch with family and friends? Or just ramble incoherent, irrelevant thoughts about sports and politics? I’m guessing it’ll be a confusing combination of many things. Strap yourself in, because this road I am traveling down is winding, slippery, dangerous, and exhilarating. Should be interesting.
For now,
BB
