Life is an interesting beast. We all (most middle class Americans) have nearly complete control over what direction we take with our lives. We have unprecedented freedom of communication, travel, and career. And yet most Americans will end up living the majority of their lives within 50 miles from their ancestral home.
Despite the plethora of options available to all of us; we often just choose the path of least resistance, the most obvious choice. I know I am guilty of this, more than I would like to admit….
My wife and I graduated from college in ’09 and ’10 respectively. Our degrees were in engineering, we have our whole lives in front of us. At least that’s what I am told… Of course in middle class America, no one tells you that life consists mostly of the following.
1. Get a college degree (A good one so you can get a good #2)2. Get a job (a high paying one so you can pay for #1)
3. Buy a house (for your nice TV, car, and 1-3 children)
4. Have 1-3 children
5. Continue to work for the next 25-35 years (to pay for 1, 3, 4, and any upgrades thereof)
The irony in all this “life” is that there is little room for living. There is no window out into the world. In my opinion, this pattern is almost akin to being a prisoner, (except the food is better, and there are fewer shivs; I try to avoid those, very nasty). Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of ways to make life contain much more “living”. Initially, my thought was that I could live within this framework. A series of events changed my way of thinking. So after a couple of years in the rat race, my wife and I decided to take off for some living.
Over the course of 6 months we procured a ’82 VW Vanagon Camper, restored it, quit our jobs, and cleared our life into a 5X10” storage unit. We are now out on the road. Our first stop is Alaska (my wife has had a wish to visit for some time). We are going to travel the Americas until we get road sick or become penniless. Our aim? To have absolute control over where we are, and what we do, all day, every day. How did we manage to do this? That is for another post.
PS: I will not be behind a desk tomorrow :D
That all sounds wonderful!!! (until you realize that your mother in law gradiated in 1982 and she just had her 30 year old clas reunion!! Ahaahaa!!))) aw well, if you get bored you can always have me send you some of my 8track tapes to plug into the 8 track.player!!....hope you like country!!
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