Admittedly, Michael and I lived in a fairly fancy (let's be real: douchey) apartment building in San Francisco, inhabited mostly by curmudgeonly elderly folks and/or newly wealthy techies. While we loved its location, safety, and nice amenities, we both knew this was not a place we wanted to live in forever. But a big part of what transformed this apartment into a home, and a community, for us, was that we were fortunate to have wonderful next-door neighbors: Brittney and Richard. They are two of the most genuine, hilarious, adventurous, good-hearted, and all around lovely people we have been fortunate enough to meet. The four of us have gotten close over the past couple of years, and just before we moved out, they invited us over for one final meal together. In true B+R style, they went all out by making homemade pasta:
At the end of the meal, they gifted us with two journals where we could record anecdotes from our travels. Having gone on their own four-month adventure around the world together a couple of years ago, they knew how important it was to document these very precious memories. This in and of itself was already an incredibly thoughtful gift, but inside the cover of both of the journals, Brittney had written down her favorite quote for us:
"Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life, you will see its full meaning and its incredibly beauty."
Yes. Hells yes. When Michael and I read this, we both looked at each other and smiled. This is what it's all about. This is why even though our excitement and giddiness is sometimes punctuated by moments of terror and disbelief (as in, "Ermagoooood, how are we 31 years old and now both unemployed and moving back in with our parents again?!"), we know that ultimately this is all going to be worth it. This is why whenever I feel a wave of panic that Michael left his job and I didn't apply for a job right after postdoc like I was "supposed" to, and I feel sad that we moved out of our cozy apartment with its wonderful views and left the city and the friends and community that we love, I think about this quote and I feel a sense of calm. Thank you for the journals, and for this amazing gift, B+R. We love you and miss you already.
T-minus 21 hours until we embark on our new helter skelter lifestyle. Wish us luck!
-Alexandra
P.S. - In other totally unrelated news, how freaking awesome of a packer am I?!
When I told people I was just bringing a carry-on backpack on this trip, many raised a skeptical eyebrow. And with good reason - when traveling, I am a compulsive overpacker, and am guilty of always throwing in extra stuff at the last minute that I swear I'll need (but ultimately never use). But this is all I'm bringing, for 8 whole weeks! See you all in Europe ;-)