Depending on who you ask, the decision to quit our jobs and travel is either sudden and impulsive or “shut up about it and leave already”. The reality is a hearty combination of both. And, as with all life decisions worth losing sleep over, the question of “when is the right time?” was one of the toughest to wrestle with.
It could be argued that our plan was set into motion back on our 2015 visit to Thailand when we first seriously (and drunkenly) kicked around the notion of extended travel. And it could just as easily be argued that this was inevitable ever since our 3rd date sent us hostel-hopping across Ireland. Many scholars contest these dates with furor.
It’s also possible that, even with those seeds sowed, this never would have happened if countless other things hadn’t paved the proverbial path first. What if Sara and I hadn’t been on the same flip cup team at the Break Media Oktoberfest Party in late 2012? What if inevitable travel hiccups on our first few adventures scared us from the mere thought of something like what we’re doing now? What if David had never been stabbed in the head a few times affording us a shared apartment, a fresh perspective on priorities, and a few staples to remove? What if life/America/the future didn’t suddenly feel way less certain than it did a few years ago?
The point is that there’s no such thing as a sudden decision when it comes to things like this. The stars don’t align immediately, and they don’t align perfectly. The reality is more like several seemingly disparate pieces falling into formerly unrelated places slowly and silently until, upon looking at them from the right angle, they become something vaguely resembling an opportunity. It’s not glamorous. It’s not cinematic. It may or may not smell like field hockey locker room. And it’s all good.
So if I had one piece of advice on any decision of this magnitude, it would be to talk about it as often as possible. The more you discuss something the more real it becomes and the harder it is to ignore. Cue the hanging of an inspirational poster reading “The dreams that go unrealized are the ones you don’t vocalize.” And then cue that poster being torn down and thrown away by a 2-years-older you, full of hindsight, carbs, and regret. I guess we’ll see how this goes.
