Thoughts of a Wonderluster

This week marked ten years since I graduated from high school. Sometimes cliches are true - time really does fly. Ten years is a long time - over a third of my life - but the years since walking across that stage have flown by to the point where it's almost impossible to think about everything that has happened in between now and then. I've earned two degrees and work in the field in which I studied. I've lived in Philly, Richmond, and Chicago. I've traveled. I've voted. I've loved. I've lost.  The period after high school has brought about tremendous change for myself and my peers, as it should. From teenager, to adolescent, to young adult, to a [somewhat] mature adult, I've progressed through the most impactful years of my life and have learned about myself and others on my path to becoming who I'm destined to be. Peers change. Interests change. Jobs change. Residences change. Outlooks change. We all change - it's how we evolve. But...

My head and my heart have been married since birth,  but like a disagreeable couple they fight a lot. My heart is emotional and straightforward ,  but my head -  my head is indecisive. Sometimes I wish my heart had a voice which my head couldn't filter so I could describe in tongue so fanciful the emotions I feel. Truth and affection disseminate from my heart,  but are held captive by the schadenfreude of my head. My heart wants what my heart wants, but my head revels in a torturous game of logical chess. If I am to believe I should speak my mind,  somewhere between my heart and my head  the message I carry  gets caught in my throat . Maybe my head is jealous of my heart  because my heart acts simply on feeling;  on the volition of love and emotion -  never a player in the mind's games. Maybe my head is afraid of my heart's desires because my head doesn't want to get hurt. Where as the heart can move...

One of the great recent traditions between my best friends and I is to go on an annual trip to explore this great country of ours. It's a chance to spend time together like we used to a decade ago and remember old memories while we create new ones. The first two trips have been amazing and, selfishly, have helped me cross more states off my list en route to all 50 by the time I turn 30. This year's trip will be equally amazing - lots of great parks and driving in store this time around. Year Three Spokane, WA > Glacier National Park, MT > Yellowstone National Park, WY > Craters of the Moon, ID > Grand Teton National Park, WY > Salt Lake City, UT. Living in a city like I do, it makes getting out into nature even more thrilling knowing that I'll be in such an amazing setting with some of my best friends. Less than three months and counting... Year One Las Vegas, NV > Grand Canyon, AZ > Gallup, NM >  Cortez, CO / Mesa Verde > ...

Yesterday was Memorial Day and a friend and I cruised down to Oak Street Beach like we usually do when the weather breaks. Winter's hibernation is over - it's time to enjoy another summer in Chicago. After a quick lunch at Shake Shack we walked up Michigan Ave. First bad sign: loads of teenagers standing near the Drake. Second bad sign: police doing bag checks before the tunnel Third bad sign: teens as far as the eye could see on the beach When you're in beach mode there's no turning back. We walked our way past the sand courts, through a few groups of people, and marked our territory near two similarly-aged women (there weren't many of us). I bust out some watermelon, pull out my Grateful Dead book, and put in my headphones. I took a quick look around and saw nothing but teenyboppers. Here's the problem - I was a teenager once, so I'm not anti-teenager - but when you mix teenagers from different schools with alcohol and the insatiable d...

This is a post in a series of posts that detail various trips I've been on over the years. Trips and stories will be posted nonlinearly. READ ME . Laissez le bon temps rouler. Thursday, May 11th, 2017 Like most of my trips, this one started early in the morning. Alarm rang at 6:00am and I had no issues getting up - much easier process than an hour later when I normally get up for work. Finished packing and fired up the Uber-machine - the first of many Uber trips over the next few days. Louis picked me up in his Nissan Sentra and we were on our way. I will always talk to my Uber/Lyft drivers regardless of time of day because I love hearing their stories. --- Here's the thing. Generally speaking, people need to do a better job of learning more about the people around them. Talk to strangers when it's appropriate. Talk to your driver. Talk to a front desk person. People that are willing to open up and share thoughts and opinions (good or bad) make the world a...

There are two books I've read by choice that have significantly altered my outlook on life. 1. Into the Wild - John Krakauer 2. Travels with Charley  - John Steinbeck I read both early on in high school on my own volition and what interested me initially (and still to this day) is that they deal with travel, self-reliance, and human experiences. Over the past few years I've done a lot of traveling domestically and abroad in large part because of my wander/wonderlust and I really feel like a more well-rounded and knowledgeable person as a result. To me, life isn't just about myself and how I feel like I fit in the world and environment in which I live - it's also about understanding how others fit into that same world. The human condition is a fascinating thing and what spurs me along, in part, are the myriad of people I've met across the globe along the way. On my journeys I've kept some form of notes, whether written or mental, but I've never sha...