What Made Me Pursue The Nomad Life

Last year at this time I was grieving the loss of my memere (my grandmother). She had a huge hand in raising me and she is present in many of my childhood memories, most of the pleasant ones anyway.

Now I'm leaving everything behind to travel the world.

The decision wasn't necessarily sparked by her passing, though the notion of our brief mortality perhaps kept my motivation stoked within the embers. Instead, there were many reasons that influenced me a year ago, when I started taking serious steps toward this goal.

For starters, Jasper, my boyfriend, had been talking about it pretty much since we met (about 3 years ago). It was something that drew us together: a mix of experiencing all that life has to offer, avoiding the corporate grind, the chance to meet new people, a longing to see new parts of the world, all with a dash of rebellion and stick-it-to-the-man-iosis. He's been much of the drive behind this whole operation (what we've started calling Operation GTFO). Although I've always wanted to do this, the idea of leaving everything, my safety nets and my comfort zones, scared me. What if I wouldn't be able to find a job somewhere? What if I ran out of money? What if something happened back home that I wasn't here for?

I have come to realize that all those fears mirrored concerns I would face if I chose to stay anyway: What if I can't find a job that I love? What if I can't pay rent? What if something amazing is out there that I couldn't experience because I was stuck where I am?

And, at this point, everything in my life seems to have lined up perfectly for me to do this. I've just graduated from college, and have known for some time now that I would have no clue what to do now (as I'm sure most English/humanities majors can relate to). Most of my loved ones are in good health. I have no kids, no career, no pets, no student loans (thankfully), debts or mortgages. This is the best time in my life to take advantage of this kind of freedom. Jasper has made the point time and time again that there are things in life - "anchors" as he calls them - that keeps people from pursuing this life. We've done our best to avoid such anchors so that this lifestyle could be possible for us.

I had to weigh the risks and the rewards. Jasper seemed to have already made up his mind about this, so I knew that I could either join him, or see him off. So of course, I chose the former.

We've been making plans and arrangements for months now, and the more dates we book and tickets we lock in, the more confident we feel. We don't have every moment or every journey planned quite yet, but that's okay. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "You don't need to see the whole staircase, just the first step."

Even though my memere isn't here to see us off, I know she would have been happy for me. The experience of losing her was heartbreaking, but it reminded me that I have so much to live for, and that life is more than the narratives I've wrapped myself in. She showed me the love and compassion that I hope to show myself and others.

I'm thankful for all of my family and friends who have supported us as we make this transition. You all have given us the encouragement we needed to keep Operation GTFO afloat. Our first leap into the unknown is taking us to Oahu, Hawaii, where we'll be working on an organic farm for a little over a month. We know it would have been a lot harder to do had our loved ones not been on board with it, so for that, we can't thank you enough.