My childhood was filled with spending hours outside, camping, messy crafts and bumps and bruises. I was notorious for spilling food on my shirt and getting mud on my shoes. I climbed trees, splashed in puddles and swam in lakes.

I've gotten better at not spilling food on my clothes, but not so much at keeping mud off my shoes. I couldn't care less about the state of my wardrobe and I'd rather spend a day outside than in the mall; I haven't shaken the lifestyle.

I work at a summer camp, where I encourage kids to drop the fear of making a mess to just be kids. I go hiking with my friends and am often the instigator of exploring off the path. I've always valued chasing adventure more than chasing after materials.

I'm grateful my parents fostered this sense of adventure within me. I learned you can always buy more clothes, but you can't go back and buy a missed opportunity. I learned to worry less about a perfect image and more about finding perfection within nature.

I was a hammock kid who played cards at cabins in the summer heat while swatting away mosquitoes. I was a neighboorhood kid who swarmed to a yard with the other neighboorhood kids every night to play old school games like kick the can. I was a lake kid who learned how to fish and steer a canoe before I learned how to paint my nails nicely.

I've got a book of stories of fun times and the knowledge of how to let go and create more stories. I'm the friend who knows how to start a fire. I'm equipped with the knowledge of how to pitch a tent.

I am told sometimes I'm not "girly enough," whatever that means. I have a decently easy time making guy friends and sometimes I'm judged for that. Fortunately, when you're raised to live in the moment and forget what you look like, you quickly learn not to care so much about those judgments.

Don't expect me to change anytime soon either. I still climb trees, splash in puddles and swim in lakes. I'll take my clothes smelling like bonfire over thick perfume any day. I'll take a cookout over a fancy steak dinner and looking up at the stars in my small town over the thick smog of city life.

I live for meeting new people, seeing new places and hearing new opinions. Call me a hick, but I respect your lifestyle. I am just unexplainably thankful for mine, and as long as you keep an open mind does the location of your dwelling truly matter?

We could all use a little dirt on our shoes. Start chasing adventure through exploration and stop chasing things. If you look for happiness in material possessions you will get stuck in a cycle of always wanting more. The world offers us so much inexpensive fun, and I'll continue to take the world up on that offer.