ad·ven·ture

An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.

Why is it that the memories we have from when were kids are so prominent in our minds? Why are they so rich in detail? Why did time feel like it crept by back then? Every moment felt monumental, from the first time you rode a bike, to your first glorious ride down a water slide, to your first night spent away from home. How easy it is to remember the first time you visited some place far away or ate a strange, foreign food.

Our youthful days were full of new experiences – new people, new foods, and new places. Whether it was your first kiss or the day you moved out of your parents house, the first time you did anything, it was thrilling. Our lives seemed denser then. We lived in a constant state of curiosity and novelty.

But then, somehow, we grew up. We moved away from home, started working full-time, grinding away at the beginning of our careers hoping that if we worked hard enough, we’d be allowed to keep working, and hopefully down the line we’d make a bit more money and have to do a bit less work for it. Some of us found ourselves with family members to support, or children that now depend on us.

Suddenly, our responsibilities take up so much of our time that we fall into a monotonous rut, no longer cherishing each moment, speeding through life without taking a second to stop and realize how much time has passed or where the hell we’re even going.

My name is Lindsay. I am like so many Americans in their twenties: I work full-time in a demanding job, and while I’m lucky enough to love what I do, my 60 to 80-hour work week leaves me little time or energy to try new things or pursue the constant curiosity I have for the world around me. Mostly, I’ve just been relying on my old standard for fun – having a drink (or 10) at a bar with some friends and trying hard not to puke the next morning.

Well, my liver isn’t going to hold out forever. And more importantly, I’ve always felt a real longing for excitement, adventure, even just a little more novelty in my everyday life. I’ve found that when I push myself to go out of my comfort zone and do something I’ve never done before, even if it is as little as trying a new restaurant or as big as traveling to Thailand, I feel a rush. It is that same excitement that I felt as a kid when I did something for the first time. After some thought, I’ve come up with a solution to live more densely and seek out those novel experiences in my adult life.

I’ve decided to commit myself to going on one adventure every week. Every single week, whether I’m on vacation or shoulder-deep in work and life’s responsibilities, I have to seek out something I haven’t done before, and then do it with enthusiasm and energy.

My weekly adventure doesn’t have to be a dangerous, Lewis-and-Clark-esque grand adventure in some remote place in the world. While I wish I had the time or the money to commit to living in a constant state of adventure (and I buy a lottery ticket every week with that dream in mind), I simply want to make a conscious effort to seek out things I haven’t experienced before and throw myself into them head on.

The goal is to recapture that feeling I had as a kid doing something for the first time, whether it be finding the best food truck in the city, or hiking a new trail, or skydiving, or visiting a fascinating art exhibit…the possibilities for novelty are all around me. It is just a matter of actively seeking out new experiences and approaching them with an open mind and the curiosity of a child.

This blog is part travel blog, part lifestyle blog, and part a making-the-most-out-of-life, carpe-diem-that-shit personal development blog. My goal is to entertain and educate about the places I go, the people I meet, and the things I do, see, and eat, but more importantly, I hope this blog inspires other people to reject monotony in their own lives and seek out their own adventures in the world around them.

It is time we start to live more richly, think more openly and make our experience of life more memorable and one-of-a-kind. I started today with my first adventure, and I already have a feeling this personal experiment could be the catalyst for a much richer life.

Cheers to adventure!