Commencement.

Commencement.

My four year stint of academics at the University of Puget Sound has ended. Graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry, I feel a lot of what I’ve accomplished has been undeserved. Maybe it hasn’t hit me that I am now a graduate of college, something that many people tell me that I must appreciate since so many others do not get the chance to attend college. But I feel that it has always been expected of me to do what I have done therefore I don’t feel like I’ve done anything spectacular. I’ve just met the minimal expectations.

So what now? What must I do to get myself out of this “rut” where I just accomplish what is expected of me? I could continue living the pre-formatted life that is expected of me: get a job, pay off my loans, eventually get married and have kids. And to some extent, I will live this type of life; but my mission is to do more. There is no way that my aspirations are unique. The quest for freedom is something that I feel most individuals try to obtain. What it entails and how one does it completely depends on the person. So what is it for me and how will I obtain it?

I want to a life with adventure. I have already done some of these things like surfing, skydiving, traveling to Asia, Africa and Europe. I want to be able to continue doing these things even though the “real world” is upon me. I am taking a hiatus from this oncoming by going on the Pacific-Rim trip next year. I will be in South Korea, Mongolia, China, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and India, if not other places. I am looking forward to seeing the sunrise and sunset from the Himalayas, walking through the bustling cities of China and backpacking through the hills of Mongolia. I just got back from British Columbia the other day and the ferry ride through the San Juan Islands and Victoria gave me the idea that I would love to live on a boat for a few years, being able to enjoy the scenery of the northwest and the morning mist along its waters while being able to travel along the coast as I please. Supposedly the owner of the website tomsshoes.com lives on a boat and travels between Florida and his factories in Argentina constantly running his business. I believe that is an awesome way of living life. Maybe that is the key: find a sustainable means of living which allows me to travel yet work at the same time. Who knows? These are just my thoughts.

I want the world to be my backyard.