Henry David Thoreau is My Inspiration

The person that inspired me the most to take my journey into the wild was Henry David Thoreau. His quote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” has stimulated me to live my life the way I wanted to live and not live it to meet the expectations of society or anyone else. I wanted to live without all the outside influences and I felt well prepared to take a risk and meet the challenge of starting life all over with only the clothes on my back and a few other things. Thoreau and I were similar in many ways, specifically, we detested the material things in life and we both have a deep appreciation for the relationship we have between man and the serenity of nature.
As I journey down the snow-covered trail in Alaska with my rifle, a camera, a few books, some rice, and my journal, I can only think of Thoreau. One of his many quotes comes to mind and I clearly know why I’m on this venture. I’ve got the opportunity to make the most of my life and figure out what is really important to me. I definitely knew that I did not want to live the rest of my life in Virginia, living a basic life like everybody else; I wanted more out of life. Until now, I followed the plan my life had for me and currently, I want to live life deliberately the way I want to live.
I will live with a purpose and no longer live to jump every time I’m told to do something and I’m not going to live just to survive. Most people work all their life with the hope of earning enough money to someday retire and enjoy their life. I was “born with a silver spoon in my mouth” and I could have the best things in life, but as Robert Frost put it, “Two roads diverged and I chose the one less traveled.” I want to live my life now and enjoy the essential facts of life.
Why would I want to fit into my life living like a robot and become lost in my own life? Getting an education only meant that I’d be skilled and that skill would become my pay. It’s such a vicious and mundane circle of work, get paid, and spend with pressure and stressors galore. So, you see, living my life in the wild won’t make me rich in money, but it’ll reward me with more importance in my life. Now I know that I want to live my life and that’s why I took the road less traveled by and when I die, at least I’ll know that I have lived my life.

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.