We Walk, We Reverse, We Walk Again

I want to spend a whole, William sized blog post recounting to you the many adventures I had from the moment I set foot on foreign soil to the moment I stepped on the plane back.

I want to chat about the conversations I had and the people I met while I was there.

I want to paint pictures of what I felt when I arrived.
Tell tales of Parisian journeys.
Create a nice narrative of my 12 full days in a foreign country.


However, I don't think I'll do that.

Instead, I'm going to talk about life.



So this was in fact the first time I had left the United States and traveled to a different country. Nervous doesn't even begin to describe how I felt leading up to the trip... Excited can't quite contain the emotions I felt.

I was all over the place, and rightfully so I think.

You'd have to ask Patriz and Emir for an outside read on my emotions while I was in France, because I don't know if I could pinpoint them myself.

I had an absolutely fantastic time! I learned about a different culture, I saw things that America only wishes it had, and I was able to do my favorite thing, meet new people.

"What was your favorite thing yous saw/did?"

Understandably the number one question I've been asked by people upon my return to the states.

I love and hate the question. How is someone supposed to pinpoint a specific sight as the best thing?
At the same time, this question points out a very wonderful thing about us as humans. We think about destinations. We thrive on destinations.

I try not to. I try not to set my goals at a specific point, and I try not to focus on specific destinations.

When we focus on a specific destination we tend to miss the steps we take to get there.

It was interesting because I noticed this when Emir would apologize for us taking too long and not getting to go in to certain locations.

I was never upset about missing something or even sad. At times, I did wish we had gotten to go in some places, but it never tore me down. In fact, almost every single time we arrived too late to go in somewhere it was because we had a longer than expected meal, or I had been taking pictures, or we spent longer at the previous location.

As much as I loved seeing the sights I saw, I would have gladly given every single one of them up for the chance to spend more time with Gil, Skander, Antonio, Sonia, or even Emir and Patriz (whom I hung out with for the whole trip).

I feel like those conversations were more beneficial to me as a human than seeing the sights were, and it is completely ridiculous that I would spend all the money to travel to Paris for 12 days and wish that they had all been spent hanging out instead of sight seeing, but I would do it in a heartbeat.

Like I said earlier, I think we focus on the destination too much. I'm very much a stern believer in the idea that it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. This is one of the defining mottos of my life, and I think it's a better life for it.

Don't get me wrong, I love the destinations as much as the next guy, but think about it. If I were to have achieved my dream job in Seattle instead of ending up with HP in Houston I don't know what  journeys I would have missed. Especially due to the fact that my main reason for choosing to go to France was the fact that HP forced the use of vacation days during Christmas break.

See, it is way too easy to be so set on a goal or a destination that life passes us by.

So, even though it's a silly little joke Gil and I developed from our (maybe) 13 hours of hanging out, "We Walk, We Reverse, We Walk Again" has become a new motto in my life.

Life is a constant journey and as such we are constantly walking through it. There are times when we hit a wall and life throws all manner of impassable obstacles in our paths, and in those moments we reverse, we're thrown for a loop. After such moments, we walk again. We continue on, not stopping.

Through this life, this never-ending journey, I never want to become complacent due to reaching my destination.

No. I will continue to embrace every step of the journey. Every new day, every new encounter, every new breath will be noticed.

So there's my challenge to all of you. Embrace life, and enjoy the journey. Even when the going gets rough there is still a lot of beauty in the world and although it may be hard to see it it is all around us.

I love you all, and hope you weren't expecting me to go all "On the 25th, at approximately 8AM..." in this post. I figured that would just bore you more than you wanted. Haha.

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope it has started out well for you, and I hope that 2015 turns out to be one you look back on fondly. =D