The Beginning

I must admit, this is my first real attempt at a blog. I’ve never really had a reason to make one, and I didn’t think anyone cared to read my daily thoughts enough to actually post them for the world to see. I can’t claim that anyone will want to read them now, but this is mainly for my own purposes to track my thoughts over the next year or so. I hope to keep this updated as things progress and I hope that someone out there enjoys reading it as much as I hope I enjoy posting.

That being said, time to get to the meat and potatoes of it all.

In less than one year now, I hope to close one chapter of my life and begin the next. By this time next year I will be finished with my degree, I’ll have passed the 5-year mark at my current job and be vested, and I’ll be less than a month away from the start date for the National Park Service ranger training academy in Mount Vernon, WA. That’s really where the whole story starts…

If you’re reading this, you may already know a good deal about me, but for those who just happened to stumble across it, I feel I should give you some background. I’ll spare you a number of details and try to stick to the story at hand.

I’m 23, working full time as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and volunteering as a firefighter/EMT. I’m also attending college, online of all places, for a bachelor’s degree in criminology/criminal justice. I’ve always had a strong desire to travel and, as luck would have it, I’ve found the ability to do so over the years. In high school I attended the People to People Student Ambassador program on two occasions, traveling to Australia and New Zealand in 2003 and to England, Ireland, and Wales in 2005. The buck doesn’t stop there. I’ve also been to the Caribbean – the islands of Saba and St. Maarten/St. Martin, as well as many other small trips in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Willfully wanderlust is a term I’ve coined just for the occasion. It’s mainly nonsensical, but at the same time it means something to me. By claiming to be willfully wanderlust, I mean that I have a strong desire to travel intentionally on an impulsive manner. It doesn’t matter where I’m going as long as I’m going somewhere.

What’s all this got to do with my blog, you ask?

In the next year I hope to accomplish many things. I hope to finish my degree and quit my job. Yes, you heard me correctly; quitting my job shall be an accomplishment. Once those two things are completed, I will embark on a great adventure to see the U.S. from coast to coast. The details are still in the works, but I have about 10 months to plan it all out. That is what this blog shall be for.

For the next 10 months or so, I will be posting thoughts and plans, as I make them, for this grand adventure. After that, I’ll keep it updated with thoughts and pictures from the road.

The world is at my doorstep from here on out. There’s no stopping me now.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

Note: I realize this post leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Stick with me, and I promise they’ll be answered in time. This is my first post after all, I’ve gotta make sure there’s something worth coming back for later.