On My Own

Tomorrow, I am going on an adventure.

I’ve never been anywhere on my own, really. Sure, I went to drum major camp for half of a week at CWU the summer before junior year in high school. One time, I went to Canada for a week, just my dad and I, to visit family. But I’ve never really been just… On my own. Kids that are away at college have been on their own for months, so to them, this would seem like no big deal. To me, though, it’s just something I’ve never really done. It might sound lame, and I honestly think it sounds a bit childish — come on, I’m almost 19 and I’ve never been on my own before? When my mom was my age, she had already been to Europe once, and was planning another trip to travel Europe with her best friend for a few months. Surely I can go to California on my own.

Tomorrow, I’m flying alone to San Diego to spend half a week with my uncle and cousin.
This is a big deal for me not just because I’m going somewhere new for the first time on my own without my parents, but also because I’m so excited to be going. Last year, I didn’t want to go away to college. I told myself I would probably want to after two years at CBC, but I still wasn’t completely sure.

The fact that I do want to go do this by myself makes me feel great. I can do this. This isn’t so bad — in fact, I know I’m going to have an awesome time no matter what, because, will first of all, it’s CALIFORNIA. The land of sunshine and free spirits and oranges and junk.

See, the more I write about it, the more lame it sounds that I’ve never really gone somewhere on my own before. We all do things at different paces, I know. But I just never really had a desire to leave. Why would I leave? I’m comfortable right here.

Well, tomorrow, I’m going to live a little, and step out of my comfort zone. They say that life begins at the end of your comfort zone, and I do believe that. I believe that not because it means doing something new or different, but because it means that you want to do something new or different. We should all want to try new things, and sometimes, doing new things that are still within reach of your comfort zone isn’t quite enough.

Tomorrow, I am going to fly to San Diego by myself, and I’m not afraid to go.
That’s a good start, right?

The Spirit of Adventure

Do something spur-of-the-moment. It doesn’t have to be crazy. Just go with your gut.

A few days ago, the sun actually came out. I was driving across the bridge with the windows down, and I glanced to my right at the water. The river was a brilliant shade of blue-green, and the sunlight was sparkling right off of the surface. I had twenty seconds to decide to take the exit to go to the river’s edge.

“Yeah, I don’t work until four, I can take the time to go to the river.”

“Nah, I’m hungry.”

“Well, I do really like the river…”

So I took the exit, and went down to the river. I took some photos, then drove to Clover Island and walked around there. I got home an hour later than I expected, and it was totally worth my time.

See, I often see pictures on social media with quotes about “going on an adventure.” I’m sure that we would all like to go on an adventure right now. But the way I see it, an adventure doesn’t have to mean going somewhere new… I think an adventure is doing something a little out of the ordinary.

I find it so hard to plan “adventures.” Sure, you can plan to go on a road trip with your friends across the state. But in reality, I think that sometimes, adventures are better when they are unplanned. I don’t exactly mean going on a road trip across the state unplanned, although that certainly works too. Adventures can happen at anytime, anyplace, with anyone. I don’t have the time (or money) to just get up and go camping in the wilderness for a weekend. There are things that I can do now, though, that don’t require me to go very far at all. Most of the time, I just don’t always see these opportunities.

I think that the true spirit of adventure comes from getting that feeling in your gut: “Should I go do that?”

Today, for example, I went into the backyard with the dog. The day had started off sunny, then got cloudy, and finally, at the end of the day, the clouds were beginning to shrink down around the edges. I ran back inside, yelled something to my mom, and ran out the front door, down the street, out of the neighborhood, and into the nearby cherry orchard. I wanted to see the colors in the sky to the east.

I jogged back home, and told my mom that the clouds were clearing.

“Well, do you want to go up the hill and take some pictures?” she asked.

So, we jumped in the car and sped up to the top of the hill behind our house. I got out, and the sun was just about to dip beneath the clouds in the west. I was being blasted with wind, and was having a hard time getting my iPhone up to take pictures (yes, I am an iPhone photographer). I turned to look at the darker clouds behind me, and when I turned back around towards the sun, I was blasted with sunlight. The sun was finally squeezing out rays before it dipped below the horizon.

It’s sights like that that make me laugh to myself. After a melancholy, windy, gray day, someone up there wanted to reward us with five minutes of radiant light that stretched across the whole Tri-Cities.

I certainly wasn’t expecting a view like that.

So let yourself go on an adventure sometime soon. Whether it’s stopping at a locally-owned store you always drive by, or deciding to chase a rainbow — if you get a gut feeling, go with it. You might just be surprised by the treasures you’ll find.