I like to think of life as a constant adventure - it makes it easier to embrace the greatness and overcome the obstacles we face along the way. This year has thrown both my way, and as I sit in an Amsterdam coffee bar reflecting on where I've been and where I'm going, I can't help but feel like (in the words of a great guy, John Burkoff) "life is good!" How can it not be good? I learned to swing from the trapeze, I've walked in the Matterhorn's looming presence and summited to an alpine lake, stood in awe of the terra cotta soldiers in Xi'an and hiked the Great Wall of China, and I boated through the canals of Venice. It's a big world out there, but it sure is fun to go exploring!
It's August and I've visited friends and family across the country - literally on opposite coasts - in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Charlottesville, and Buffalo. I lived in and moved from Denver, where my life's collection of belongings (most of which I can't recall) still sits quietly in the dark of a 10x10 storage unit. I made my first solo cross-country drive to my temporary accommodation with my parents in metro-Atlanta. I am eternally grateful for their warmness and willingness to take in their globetrotting son. The same son that couldn't even sleep away from home as a child returns, this time as a springboard to a five-month global journey. How time does change us...
And now, after a three-week journey through China with 100 high school students and an amazing team of colleagues and an incredible and memorable eight-day stint in the charming and quaint Swiss alpine Venthône village, I start this blog in a coffee bar on Javastraat in the east side of Amsterdam. I arrived here five days ago to reconnect with a wonderful duo whom I met on the MV Explorer six years ago. We haven't seen each other since then, but here we are visiting and filling in the gaps that exist for far-away friendships. Tomorrow I leave for London, and subsequently Southampton, where my fall voyage of Semester at Sea will set sail for a world of wonder and a 100+ day experiment in academics, exploration, and community building will begin.
I tend toward relationship building - I always have. I place huge value on friendships and staying connected. Every day, when I look at the arch of my right foot, I am reminded of this - ubuntu (I am, because you are). I tattooed "ubuntu" on my foot four years ago as a reminder of the importance I place on the idea of community and the people in it. It (literally) keeps me grounded and reminds me that through the relationships we build and the resulting webs we weave, we make impacts on ourselves and the larger world around us.
As I prepare for my upcoming adventure, I am grateful for the friends I have and the unforgettable experiences I've had with them. It brings me joy to know that these people in my life are there for the long haul. It's ubuntu at work. I am, because you are. It's as simple as that.
When I board my flight to London tomorrow, my #retiredsummer is over. I am over the moon to reconnect with old friends and to create lasting memories with the new people with whom my path is about to cross. Let's get this show on the road!
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