Ready To Start

Well.  This is really happening.  It has been a while now that I've wanted to quit my job and travel.  I figured when the time came it would be something I did solo, but luckily I'm dating this awesome person who wants to do this too.  He introduced me to WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) which is an organization that connects host farms to volunteers who come and work part time in exchange for food and housing.  It is an excellent way to see the world and learn really cool things.  It is international, so after this trip around the United States, we could go do this in other countries, and we plan to.  I really want to learn to grow my own food and be able to make things myself.  Could I learn these things while working a 9-5?  Sure, on evenings and weekends.  But I would much prefer immersing myself in this type of lifestyle while also getting to do my favorite thing - travel.  So here we are.  This is also in part a spiritual endeavor - but that seems best saved for another post down the road when I will have an abundance of quiet time in nature to properly gather my thoughts.

Our general route is going to be north, back south, and then westward.  When we settle back down it will be in California.  I lived in Sacramento for 5 years and although I was not a huge fan of the city, I do miss the state and the west coast in general.  Karol wants to work for Tesla and their headquarters is in California, so it's a win - win for us.  I'm such a dork that my biggest anxiety about traveling is not having a local library to linger in.  I have been fiendishly downloading PDFs of the books I have on my Goodreads "to-read" shelf as if I were never going to encounter the elusive paperback ever again.  I'm aware that it is irrational and silly.  Deep down I know I will stumble upon many a great book during our travels.  There are of course more pertinent things to be anxious about:

1) Not having a steady income
2) Getting injured far from civilization (oh yeah, I guess I should figure out that health insurance thing, eh?)
3) Getting murdered by backwoods hillbillies

Despite these anxieties, my primarily feelings are excitement and joy for what's ahead.

While I would not describe myself right now as lost, I am struggling with choosing a way to be happy and make money.  I know that I am capable of getting and holding a job, and even making okay money despite my lack of degree.  However, I end up at jobs that are less than fulfilling, and I know I need to find my inspiration.  For a while I thought that if I just found a steady job that I didn't hate, and that paid well, I could trudge through it as long as I had decent vacation time and the money to travel.  It took me way too long to realize that that is definitely not enough.  Should I get a job outdoors?  I've always considered going to school for Forensic Science, but I didn't want to go to school for that long and I thought I wasn't smart enough.  Is it time to do that?  More than likely I need a job that permits me to travel, but a job doing what?  There are lots of questions.  I know the answer is not going to creep out from under my desk and conveniently hop onto my lap, staring wide-eyed into my face and gesticulating as it blocks the computer screen in front of me. This journey is not for the sole purpose of figuring out the answer of what to do with my life in terms of a job, although I certainly hope it helps.  I just know that sitting here I will absolutely not find the answer.  The time has come to focus on doing things I love.  I love traveling, I love nature, and I love learning.  The rest will work itself out.  Everything in my being is telling me this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life right now, and I can't possibly ignore all of me.