A road trip across California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona allowed my best friend and I to temporarily abandon our daily routines. Traveling and escaping “reality” left me with several life changing lessons that I cannot wait to share!
First, Life Goes on Without Technology.
Vigor vs bragging rights
Not having access to technology taught us that we don’t need it to stay entertained. In fact, updating and responding became a dreaded chore. I can’t describe how wonderful it felt to live in the moment. I felt more connected and aware of the people and situations around me than I ever have. Living for the moment and for ourselves, gave us a sense of “wow this is what it means to be alive” that all humanity deserves to experience. I now realize, we must adventure, communicate, and simply live day to day in search of joy and vigor not bragging rights on social media.
Second, there’s no reason to be bored, or negative, ever.
My best friend and I camped in a snow storm on Oregon mountain tops, 115 degree heat in Arizona, and grizzly bear run forests in Yellowstone. We also stayed in a shady Vegas motel surrounded by private investigators and slept in a few Walmart parking lots. Because everyday was a mystery, we were never completely sure we were safe. We were also never bored. At home, sleep is scarce for me. Sometimes I run for weeks on two or three hours a night. After hiking, setting up camp and preparing food by the fire, my companion and I drifted off as soon as our heads hit the pillow.
The few times we stayed with relatives and friends in Anaheim and Berkeley California, McCall Idaho, and Lake Havasu Arizona, we were so grateful for restaurant food, clean beds, and showers, we couldn’t be happier. Even when we didn’t have to worry about safety, food, and sleep there was always something to do. Now I know that, when I’m bored, adventure is out there. This doesn’t mean we have to plan full schedules everyday, in fact, plan less! If everyday is planned out, there’s no room for potential life changing memories!
What it comes down to - life is beautiful
To prevent further rambling, this is what it really comes down to. As a society, we generally have it so good in our homes it’s easy to get bored or think negatively because there's time to daydream about having “more”. In all honesty, I complain a lot. Well at least I did. Life is sickening sometimes. Everything that can go wrong does no matter how good of a person you are or how well you prepare. Though this is true, life is so damn beautiful. We focus on bad things because we want to correct them. I’m finding we don’t always have to. Many bad events are great stories to laugh at and use in comparison to make the good things look ten times better.
Finally, leaving the "real world" is reality.
School and work are important but so much of what we do was already done. We’ve passed down the same lessons and professions for years. What about discovering something new? Money and success are nice but experiencing, breathing in the anxiety of uncertainty, accepting it, and pushing forward is what life is all about.
Money
On the topic of money, if you’re anything like me, you refuse to spend it. It’s okay to save sometimes but if dropping a few dollars means getting a one of a kind piece, taking a thrilling ride, or staying in a swanky cabin, do it! That’s the reason we make money, to use it!
Appearance
Another “real world” obsession so many of us have is with appearance. There was no way my best friend and I were doing our hair and makeup to hike in over 100 degree heat. Over time, I felt most confident meeting new people wearing sweat and a smile because it meant we were meeting in adventure and with honesty.
Food
Continuing with appearance, at home I worry about eating healthy foods. Every month there’s a new diet trend. I realize now that this is just another way to kill time. It’s bad enough that I eat for recreation but I recently realized following new diets is just another way to keep us busy. Trends are ways food marketers can make money and keep us obsessing over our "weaknesses". Instead we should be enjoying the foods we love and moving on to more interesting endeavors.
I’m proud to say I packed on the pounds on this trip! Food should be a friend. Take it when you can and try new things. It’s meant to give us energy so stay busy and don’t feel guilty!
The daily grind - false reality.
The final reality check I had was that there is so much more out there than what’s inside of our everyday bubbles. It’s easy to develop interests based on the people you see everyday. Throughout the national parks and Vegas nightclubs, about a third of the visitors weren’t even from the United States. I found that there are so many people, so many cultures, and so many interests to enjoy but we don’t even realize they exist. After this trip, I vow to meet as many people, travel as many places, and ask as many questions as I can. Though they’re important, college classes aren’t reality. Desk jobs aren’t reality. Social media is not reality. Taking breaks to live in the moment discover the world for yourself is reality.
Take away
Overall, I learned, life is better when lived for the moment. Do things because you want to do them and you enjoy the people you’re doing them with. Savor your relationships, don’t be distracted by technology or what responsibilities you have outside of the moment. Face to face time with the people you love, especially best friends that live on the other side of the country, are so unbelievably important. We have it so much better than we realize.
Most important
The landscape of Earth is mind blowing, people’s backstories are unimaginable, and friendships and adventures are irreplaceable. Cherish these things because their beauty is so much more powerful than the ugliness of any bad day.
