You put a week of vacation time into work.  You have nine days off if you include both of the weekends, before and after. “OK, now where am I going to go? There are so many places I want to see.” If you guys are like me, there are so many places I want to explore. It’s so hard to choose which one to go to. “Should I go to Yosemite? Yeah, I definitely want to check that out. Wait, no! What about Glacier National Park? Yeah, I always wanted to see Montana. Uh, but I  have wanted to see Rocky Mountain National Park for so long, and the Redwoods. Wouldn’t that be great! I don’t know which one to choose?” Usually my conversations go a little bit like this when I am brainstorming which destination to choose.

“But what if I don’t want to choose,” (and this is me having a conversation with myself, and no I’m not crazy.) Imagine an angel and a devil on my shoulder.

“I want to see them all! And not just one National Park a year. What if I just quit my job, and traveled to all the National Parks I’ve always wanted to go to? No deadlines. I can spend all the time I want in these parks. I hate feeling rushed for time. A week just isn’t long enough.”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, you can’t see them all. At least not all at once.”

“Well why not? What is stopping me?”

“Your full time job, the car that your leasing, no money! Your broke, you can’t afford that.”

“Oh yeah. Well, I’m  going to figure out a way to make it happen. I’ll save my money, sell my stuff, get a second job. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this happen. I can always find another job. I can save enough money to where my bills can be taken out of my bank account automatically.”

“Yeah, but you have a good county job. These good jobs are hard to find. You can’t just throw your life away and go searching for your dreams.”

This conversation, shows up repeatedly in my imagination. I want to chase my dreams. I have longed for them for so long. And I have also kept myself from them. I keep telling myself to “play it safe.” I have always done the “right thing.” Get that full-time job. Get that Bachelors. But, I don’t want this life anymore. This “same shit, different day” feeling. I am done going through the same monotonous routine. I am not growing anymore. I feel stuck. I feel like a part of me is dying inside. I need to do this. I need my dreams. I can’t give up on my dreams! The National Parks, that is part of my dream. I have this pull inside my body, that is uncontrollable to do something. To travel the world. To discover. To go past my comfort zone.

Am I scared? Petrified! But I can’t run away from my fears anymore. No more running away. I need to do this. And all these questions such as “Well, what are you going to do when you run out of money?” I don’t have all the answers, but I am confident I will figure it out. I am not going to let myself starve to death. If i have to get a job on the road, so be it. If I have to get a summer job in New Zealand, so be it. I will do whatever it takes to fulfill my dreams.  I will travel the world, and I will start with the West.

I embark on this journey the 30th of May. Save every penny. Push away every doubt. Prepare for excellence.

Thank you for reading. Have a great day!

Shelly