Day 1: Revelations

Well. More like revelation.


I partook on this adventure for many reasons, but foremost was self discovery. From childhood on, my life, according societies ideals, was planned. Be birthed, have fun for a couple years, attend school, get a degree, work, die. How much better could it get? Yes, with this plan I am basically guaranteed a "good" life, full of money, and... and... well, that's about it. Gotta love the American Dream.
It all started at age 9. The month was december, the year, 1999. For extra credit, my 4th grade teacher offered 50 points to whomever brought in a project consisting of 2000 pieces, celebrating the new year. Inspired by this grade booster (for I hadn't been doing too well on my reading reports), I undertook the challenge. My idea, a windmill made of 2000 K'NEX pieces, the symobology of the windmill structure... nonexistant. Others brought poster boards plastered with beans reading "2000," or the numbers 1-2000 drawn out on paper in the shape of "2000." One even brought 2000 computers hell bent on destroying the world. This last one I didn't understand, so I ignored, thinking my idea was far superior. But that is beside the point. Mid-build of this awesome (not modern slang awesome, but awe inspiring fearful awesome) structure, my mother saw the opportunity that arose and pounced. She so lovingly turned to me and said, "You know honey, that's like what engineers do."

Stop. Nobody move. Did I hear this correctly? If I were to be an engineer, I would build K'NEX all day? Rewind. Replay. Soak it in.

Yes. This is what she said. This is my destiny. I will be the greatest builder of K'NEX known to man. I will dominate the world of engineering. I will rise, and shatter all previous understanding of physics with my excellency. Alexander the Great, your achievements will never match those of Joshua the Greatest. I am legend.

And that is what I thought up until college. I wanted to be an engineer. Maybe mechanical. Maybe work with alternative energy. A promising field in the near future. Yes. I will lead a good life. Work a lot. But make good money and provide for my family. What more could a man ask for? Maybe he would be working so much he wouldn't see his kids before they were put to bed, but that would be alright, because they are living well in a nice big house with nice big beds, and nice big meals. Right? Wrong.
So there I was. College. Finally. But what was it that I wanted to do? Oh that's right.. no idea. So I entered classes that kind of interested me, but nothing felt concrete. What was I doing paying all this money when I had NO clue what I wanted to do? What right did I have to accept the money my family was providing to spend it on something that seemed so frivolous? The answers never came. Instead, more questions arose. Why do I have to follow this system of school, work, die? Why couldn't I leave school for a year? Why couldn't I take a break before starting to work? I mean, a real job means no summer. That sucks. I don't like that. I want explore. I can't explore if I have 2 weeks off per year and work saturdays.
So, sitting at my desk in my dorm room, it hit me. Hey.. wait a minute. I don't have to finish school just yet. I don't have to go straight into work. I have time. Why rush? I don't know what I want to do, so hold off for a year and think it out. Do something fun. Something adventurous... Argentina? Yes, this sounded good. I liked this idea. But how would I get there? Flying is expensive and no fun.. I don't have a car.. ahh yes. And then it came. By bicycle. I would ride down to Argentina by bike. Pure genius. World, prepare yourself. Joshua the Greatest is coming through. But I could not do this alone. I must have a trusty companion. Maybe two? Someone to talk to and enjoy. So up I went, running out my door, through the bathroom, and across the hall.

"Hey Chance, you wanna take next year off and ride bikes to Argentina?" I asked in jest, unsure of his response.
"Yes," he said.

Woah. It worked. No questions. He said yes. That's it. It's done. I'm outta here.

We wrangled a third partner. Drew. A good friend. Sturdy fellow. But plans changed. Argentina was too dangerous for our parents, so the US of A was the new plan. A bit sad that the cultural aspect of the trip was vetoed, I was still excited to bike and visit areas of the country I had not seen. So we set off. One morning about 3 weeks in, Chance and Drew were off doing brother talk about something or other, so Nickel and I cooked breakfast. When they returned Drew announced he was turning back. He figured it out early on. He knew what he wanted to do, and he had to do it then. So we let him go.
You know the rest. We traveled with Nickel to San Fran, and then decided to go to India. Big deal.
Anyways, enough background story. It was the first night out in the desert when it really dawned on me. The structure of it was slowly growing, piece by piece, until that quiet desert night, full of thoughts, it clicked. It all connected. Why hadn't I seen this before? It's so simple. I've heard it said a million times. The idea's run through my mind. Why hadn't I understood it?

Well here it is:
(In India) Everything is Possible.

Anti-climatic? Maybe for you. But for me, it was a major "holy shit!" moment. I really can do what I want. People have told me this, my mom has told me this, but that seed that had been planted since birth growing thick and thorny restricted my thoughts. I used to think, "Yes, I can do anything! Just look at all the majors at UW! So many choices! Anything!" But now I see more. Yes, I still do want to complete college, and get a degree, but afterwards the world is open. I don't have to do college and then commit myself to a serious ladder climbing job. I can actually go out there and enjoy the world. I could do AmeriCore like Emily and Carrie. I could bike around the country on a bitchin' 1980's mountain bike like Nickel. I could work as a waiter in San Francisco and travel the world like Gianrigo, Nico, Karen, and Satya. I could try and get Spanish Citizenship, and teach English in Madrid like Catherine. I could plant trees in Canada like all the Canadians I've met on this trip so far. So much to do! So little time!
So that's it. That's what I've figured out. Maybe some of you figured this out years ago. Maybe some of you say, "Duh, isn't that obvious?" Well, yes, it is. It's quite obvious. But for some reason, my brain couldn't handle it all.

For all those who are interested, these are my new plans:
Return to school in fall, major in something I am interested in, minor in business. Have my degree (which is all it really is, it doesn't need to pertain to your line of work) and run around the world. And when I feel the time is right, open my bakery (this is where that minor comes in handy). Bake some yummy sweets and some healthy breads, and live a modest and contented life. And if the bakery doesn't work out, then I can use my degree to do something else. Whatever. Plans change. Who cares? All I know is that I want to enjoy my life. So that's the real plan. And wherever that takes me, whether it's remotely close to what I wrote above or not, doesn't matter. Life's short. And who knows about the afterlife. I might just decompose in the ground. Why risk it? So there it is. My revelation. Now, if someday I have a midlife crisis and don't know what to do, I can read this and remember. Everything is possible.

Love,
Josh