Mark Twain once wrote, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” While studying in Scotland and traveling throughout Europe two years ago, my mother sent me a letter inscribed with Twain’s words. At that moment in my life I struggled to define my place in the world. I contemplated the way in which I wanted to lead my life. Meditating on these questions, I came up with a list of personal ideals. I decided that I did not want to have a run-of-the-mill, nine-to-five, live my life on the weekends, type of life. I want to engage my passions. Whether it’s at work or recreation, I want whatever I am doing to resonate with my idea of happiness. This is not to say that I wish to be a hedonist. Rather, I hope to appreciate each experience in the moment, and not indulge in the fantasy of future happiness.
Additionally I indentified my love for unique, original experience that comes with traveling. Whether it was attending a yodeling concert in a Swiss village cut in the Alps or losing all my possessions in Amsterdam, traveling wrote the stories that made my narrative one worth reading. In that spirit, I decided to spend my first winter out of college traveling in South America. In just over a week I will be leaving my quiet life on the island of Nantucket and flying into Buenos Aires, Argentina. While ideas of where and what do exist, I have no set itinerary. I am a true believer that the experiences which define any trip cannot be planned. Rather one must be a tumbleweed and allow the trade winds of fate to carry you. Life is an artistic opportunity. It is the grandest canvas. My ultimate hope is that when I am old and tired, I can sit back contentedly and admire the memories of a beautiful masterpiece.
