"You need to think about your future, not
just about travelling". This is a fight I have nearly every time I talk to
my mother. She, like any responsible parent, is concerned for me. Although she
is past trying to prevent me from travelling, I can tell she is constantly
worried that I am throwing my life away. Rather than volunteering and sleeping
on the floor of a hut in Malawi, I should be finding internships, working and
saving my money.
Almost all of the people I ask nowadays seem to
be business or economics majors. When I ask them why, they tell me that they
want to make money.
While through the desert canyons of southern
Jordan this summer, I was struck once again by how beautiful the differences
between cultures are, and how very much we have to learn from one another. I
had always assumed (with my American biases and stereotypes) that living in any
Arabic country means less freedom. The United States is obsessed with the idea
of freedom. We want whatever we want, whenever we want it. We want
opportunities and the ability to do things. Yet while sipping Arabic tea and
riding camels through the canyons, I learned that the Bedouins place an
incredible value on freedom, it is merely a different type. They are free from
the hazy someday that is the future. Unlike the majority of people I speak to
in western countries, the Bedouins are not slaves to the future. Rather than
constantly working in order to ensure a secure and comfortable lifestyle, they
live in the moment. They do what they want to do. When they save money, it is
enough to finance their next trip abroad, not to put in a bank account.
I
should be working. Saving. Planning for my future. I do not know how to explain
to people that this is my future. I am doing exactly what I want to
be doing. Once upon a time, I thought that I was directionless and lost because
I had no idea what career path I wanted. I just wanted to travel. After meeting
so many people that have made their lives doing just that, and learning that
constantly worrying about having enough money for the future is not inherently
a part of life, I have left that metaphorical cage somewhere in the desert. I
hope it rusts away entirely. The truth is, as much as my mother hates hearing
it, finding a secure job is not even on my priority list...in fact, the idea of
one scares me more than anything else. Travelling has not only contributed to
my identity, it is how I became strong enough to recognize and embrace who I
am. It is not just all I want, it is all I can imagine wanting in life. Getting
a stable job and settling down somewhere would, in a way, make travelling
another blip in my past. A phase. Like middle school, or wearing braces. I know
many people that want that life, but I am not one of them. Someday I am sure I
will wear out the souls of all of my shoes and be ready to rest my feet, but
for now that belongs to the hazy someday of the future...why should I
compromise my dreams today for what I am told should be my dream for the
future? Why would anyone not choose to live the life they want while
they can?
