Living My Destiny

My family was a good family and would give me the world. We enjoyed our time together, had great conversation, and were happy for each other's success. So you may wonder if I had things so great, why did I choose to to discard my identity and past without looking back. My family had an impact on my decision to simply up and leave because I didn't want to hurt them after the love and care they provided all through my life, but I had to do it for myself and not look back. I knew if I talked it over with them, they would have tried to talk me out of it and I knew in my heart that I must go, except I had to tell just one person. My sister Karen was the only one that would understand why I was doing this and the only one that I could trust. After all, we were as close as siblings ever could be and we confided in each other about everything.

I gave up my comfort because I didn't want to be like anyone else; I didn't want to have my life planned out for me the way my parents expected. I wanted to be able to take each day as it came and enjoy life and the gifts that life gives you that aren't always accounted for. I rejected my parent's lifestyle mostly because they lived such a life of comfort and never wanted for anything so they never realized what it would be like without all the things they took for granted. I wanted to be able to live my life freely and live off the land and I was certainly willing to meet any and all challenges that I was up against.

My dad's leisure was so different than mine. While I liked to take walks, go on hikes, sit by the stream, or read a book, my father's leisure was more like having a group of men over, having a few drinks and talking about business. My dad would give anything to us as far as material things go, but he certainly wasn't able to share his leisure time with his family. Most certainly the American society has become lazy as well and uses their time to sit and watch TV, drink alcohol, do drugs, play videos, and in general be unproductive. But I did not choose to live that lifestyle. The person I'm probably most like is Jon Krakauer. Being an author, he's obviously interested in reading/writing and doing something productive, like me. He chose to tell my story so he must have an interest in my lifestyle. If I had the opportunity to meet him, the first thing I'd ask is a little more about his interest and what interest he had in my journey. It's unfortunate that I've never met him because I can tell we have so much in common and I'd love to have a conversation with him to see how much we are alike.