Serendipity: the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident
When I graduated from Michigan State University 18 months ago, the whole world was ahead of me. I’d gone to school and gotten my degree. I was ready for whatever came next.
Ready, but uncertain.
It wasn’t a stressful uncertainty, it was an optimistic one. I had decided the previous December that I was throwing all post-graduation plans out the window and replacing them with a two-month trip to Europe. I decided I would figure out the rest of my life when I got home.
The decision was both courageous and crazy, (probably more of one than the other depending on your perspective) but I knew with certainty it was the right choice. Early that year, I’d fallen in love with the quote:
Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down.
I trusted that I could jump into the wild unknown and land on my feet. I also trusted that if I didn’t land on my feet I’d put bandage on my pride and accept any job that would get me back on my feet—in terms of worst case scenarios, that’s a pretty mild case.
With that in mind, I packed my bags, boarded a plane and embarked on what would become a whirlwind adventure. My two month European adventure turned into a year-long adventure of nomadic living during which time I visited over 75 cities, took four road trips, surfed for the first time, visited friends, milked cows, spent time with family, went skydiving, had my car stolen, watched friends get married, drank coffee, took pictures, and most importantly: met incredible people.
It was a magical year because it was filled with so many wonderful people.
Over the course of the year, I learned that it is the people you surround yourself with that have the greatest impact on your future. The process of meeting and spending time with a diverse set of people led to unexpected friendships and that took my life in equally unexpected directions.
Case in point: over the course of my nomadic year, Jeannine became one of my best friends and now we’re headed to Antarctica.
It’s an adventure we’re amusingly referred to as Thanksgiving with Aunt Arctica.
Why?
Because it’s a funny pun.
Oh! You’re wondering why we’re going Antarctica. It’s a complicated story and the easiest explanation is that a spontaneous conversation led to an idea that spiraled into a project that start with a trip to Antarctica.
November 16th is the start a two week adventure filled with new experiences and more importantly, new friends. All of which we want to share via stories, photos and video here and on Facebook.
We also want to share a tangible piece of the trip—postcards! There’s nothing better than receiving a postcard from Antarctica, right?
Actually there is: receiving a postcard and helping someone in the process. We have teamed up with charity: water to raise $700 dollars to provide clean water for those without. We will happily send a Postagram postcard from Antarctica to anyone willing to make a donation to the cause. It’s a fun and simple way to give a deserving family something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
You can sign up for a postcard here.
This trip to Antarctica is my chance to get back to writing stories about the people I meet and the lessons I learn in the process. If you want all the details of the trip Facebook is the place to find them although I will be posting an update or two here.
Cheers to another adventure!
…