"I've always dreamt of travel,
Why should we die where we were born?
Some roads are laid with gravel,
Sometimes you gotta build your own."

As I sit here, ready to board my flight and move across the country, I can tell you first-hand that life is not a movie. There is no dramatic ending where someone miraculously bursts through security and sprints past several gates just in time to catch me handing my boarding pass to the attendant. Instead, I am left alone with my thoughts, wondering who that someone would be if my life was a movie. Like most people, I spend a lot of time creating false scenarios in my head where I am able to confront my relationships on my own terms, and take care of unfinished business in a way that suits me. I could sit here for hours planning out what I would say to certain people if I had the chance to speak my mind, but life just doesn't work that way.

"I wanna tear boundaries,
I wanna greet my enemies.
I wanna see what I haven't seen,
Cause I know there's more."

Time is precious, and considering I have about 10 minutes before I leave everything and everyone I've ever known behind, I have no interest in wasting it. The way I see it, I'm getting on that plane no matter what -- so people will either stand behind me, or stay behind me. Of course, not everyone is happy about it, and while I did not look forward to saying my goodbyes, it became obvious to me which position each person would take.

"I don't have any answers,
The more I know the more I grow.
I don't know where I'm going,
But I will search cause I see hope."

You see, I have spent the last three months of my life living out of a suitcase, bouncing from house to house in attempt to keep people satisfied and do as much as I could before I take off. In doing so, I had "friends" who would refuse to adjust their schedules, back out on plans last minute, or even blow me off for other people who were not in the process of packing up to leave the state. These are the types of people who are infamous for suggesting that we should "hang out more often," but when it comes time to make a plan, they rarely answer messages, let alone follow through -- which is fine, because these are the people life throws our way to teach and then stay behind us. On the other hand, I had those who were genuinely understanding of my situation and tried their damnedest to make my last few weeks ones to remember. These are the people who have stood, and will stand, behind me no matter what. Even if they get hurt in the process, they are the ones I will not give up on -- because I know they will not give up on me. I can't thank them enough.

"I wanna tear boundaries,
I wanna greet my enemies.
I wanna see what I haven't seen,
Cause I know there's more."

Traveling has taught me more than I could ever put into words, but one thing that never ceases to amaze me is that all the people sitting around me are traveling for different reasons -- yet we're all headed to a similar destination. I have no idea the story behind why the couple next to me is sharing a laugh over airline snack mix. Just as they have no idea why I'm tearing up over cards I pulled out of my backpack, or why I'm taking so many pictures of the clouds. I also have no idea how people can sit inside of a colossal metal object flying tens of thousands of feet above the ground and not look out the window.

"There's got to be more than this,
Gotta figure out how to jump the wall.
I wanna live and learn,
Don't matter if I land or if I fall."

As we fly over roads, buildings, homes, and people, I can't help but think about how crazy it is that every single microscopic dot that I see when I look to the Earth below has a different perspective of the world in which we all live. Yet somehow, we spend so many of our days missing the bigger picture. We pass over so many individual lives, each one with his/her own story to tell. Maybe if people looked out of the window, instead of at the backs of each other's heads, things would start to click -- but then again, maybe not. When you look at the world with your feet on the ground, it's easy to feel small, and fall into a daily routine that's full of judgement towards what doesn't suit you, and focus for what does -- because it's all that you know. However, when you look at the world from above, you can't see those details. You can't see people crying, fighting, laughing or loving.

All you see is the bigger picture.

We're all just trying to make it -- do what we think is our purpose, or what will get us through each day. Some of us live richer, and don't have to worry about making it work because food on the table is guaranteed. Whereas some of us don't have a penny to our names, and have no choice but to worry. Believe it or not, despite everything the media and big names of the world fight over on a regular basis -- the policies, the agendas, the economics -- there is one thing that every single one of us have in common: we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. Life can be taken away from us at any given second. So, make the most of it. Do what you love, and share it with others. Open doors for people; physically and metaphorically. I don't know about you, but giving others a reason to smile is enough to make me do the same. No matter where you travel, or how out of place you may feel, any face you look at is not guaranteed to wake up in the morning or even make to tonight. While we are all bound to make mistakes, never stop trying to do the right thing, and always strive to hold your head up high. You'll always have critics -- that's a given. The only thing you can do is work your own magic, and take the world by storm.

"I know I might return,
At least I know I'll be walking tall.
I'm not afraid,
Cause I take the world by storm."
-- Lukas Graham