Friday, May 28, 2010

The American Dream makes really lame stories...just sayin'

Reading about adventures makes me want to have my own adventure. I want to be able to experience something unique that's not a prescribed "adventure" that hundreds of people have experienced. Something that is personal to me that affects the way I live afterward.

A lot of people feel the same way and my fear is that I would do what many of them do...start working a real job, live the "American Dream" and work till they die. Yes there is some enjoyment to that, in fact I find myself living that life all the time. I wake up at 6:30, go to work, come home at 5, then do something fun or relaxing in the evening (this is all assuming we're talking about the summer when I don't have any classes). All this is enjoyable if you have a tolerable job and things to do in the evening. But there's more to be longed for.

I remember visiting my grandpa in Tennessee when I was a child. Sometimes in the evening he would tell us stories about the war. His stories were real adventures, painful and world changing. Not long ago I read some stories that my friend wrote about his adventures in South America. His stories had excitement, danger, pain, and sorrow for the people he met. What stories do I have to tell?

"I went to Colorado School of Mines and studied physics. I had lots of great friends. I experienced new things like beer, tubing, having a girlfriend, and bratwursts. I had a few summer jobs where I worked in a building for 40 hours a week. I grew up and got a job...had some good 2 week vacations to New York City, Cancun, Rome, Tokyo, and Alaska where I grew up. I've had a good life."

Will this be the extent of my stories? Will I have such a nice life that I don't have clear memories of specific, life changing experiences? Or will I drop my shields so I can experience an adventure?...a painful adventure that's more than an adrenaline rush, but rather an experience that changes the way I live.