Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Path I Wander


"Travis is from New Hampshire. And that makes him strange. Automatically." 

This was not exactly what I had in mind when I asked my friend and library coworker, Becky, to come up with a quote to describe myself.  But, as I let the quote fall and linger, it began to seem all to perfect. 

Ok, so "strange" isn't all that flattering of a term. But living in New Hampshire is, admittedly an entirely different experience than most people know. We have candlepin bowling, single-story malls, and no sidewalks. I live 10 miles from the nearest anything, and the world around me shuts down before 10 p.m. It's no place for a curious 20-year-old, and living in D.C certainly doesn't help me from growing apart from my home of 18 years. The people there are nice, but seem determined to carry on in an isolated bubble, protected from the "rest of the world."  

But after living in New Hampshire through high school, struggling with what to do, and where to go, I seem to have finally landed in a spot where I feel comfortable. I began my time at American an anxious an undecided freshman. For many years I thought I was destined to become a music teacher, or a professional jazz musician. I wanted nothing more than to spend my days behind the drum kit, playing crowed clubs and swingin' the night away. During my senior year of high school, my friends and I began playing jazz out more regularly. I can remember cold New England nights, lugging my drum kit out of my old van, and imagining what life on the road might be like. But as the practicing began to increase, and the people became to grow more competitive, the novelty of mixing academia with pleasure began to fade. 

So here I am. Blogging. Writing. Taking photos and shooting videos. And although I'm not totally sure what got me here, I am excited to discover where it might lead me. Perhaps reviewing movies, or musical acts. Perhaps to the press box at Fenway park, covering my hometown dirt dogs of summer. Or perhaps my journey will take me to the other end of the globe, to foreign foods, cryptic languages, and diverse peoples. 

The truth is that no matter what happens, I want adventure. I want to see things that scare me and things that wow me. I want to turn over some rocks and shake up this idle world. I want to never, ever, stop searching. That is the path I wander. Let's see where I go now.