Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The Journey

So I started off on this trip. With a destination in mind. However, the destination was not really the point in the end, but the times that coincided with the trip were what in the long run matter. Upon graduation, I moved to Milwaukee, partially because of an internship and partially because of a girl. Soon I learned that everything that I have been told about the useless liberal arts degree was coming true. After two interviews with jobs that I thought would be right up my alley, I found myself short changed and rejected. What I did have was a little money in my pocket, a couple of bicycles a somewhat positive outlook on life, and completely new world to embark on. However, when I arrived to Milwaukee, the internship still doesn't start until next Tuesday. In this time I had one thing to do and that was fundraise for the organization that I was about to work with. However, after a couple of weeks, that job was complete and I found myself living a life for the next couple weeks without direction and without a goal. Its funny how these things define who you are. When your in school, your goal and destination is the degree that is held up above you for 4 or 5 years or so. Then, your supposed to go out and find a job that provides you a meaning after that. What is the case is that you better be doing something, or you become one of the most irritable, depressed people that you could be. The Mr. Hyde of all your idiosyncratic attributes soon finds itself creeping out into everything that you do, your human interactions, the way that you feel about yourself, and the lens in which you view the world.After about a week and a half of dwelling in this nasty and brutish state of emotion, I felt the effects of it on everything that I did. After looking for temporary jobs in various places trying to use my college degree as an advantage, I wasn't getting anywhere. What I needed was a destination, a goal in which I could place my own identity. You find meaning in the things that you do, the goals in which you set for yourself, and in the end, despite how shallow it may seem, they provide the essentials to live a life with anomie. So how was I to solve this ridiculous predicament? And that is when I envisioned "The Journey." The Journey was planned in about a 1/2 a day in absolute desperation of the need for something meaningful. The Journey would be a bicycle touring trip up to Voyageaurs National Park in Northern Minnesota right up at the Canadian border and then back home. From Milwaukee to Voyageaurs, I figured that it would probably be about 1300 miles and take about 2 weeks. After carefully planning the trip (or maybe not) I packed 3 bicycle jerseys, 3 pair shorts, a sleeping bag, food, a camera, a tarp and an optimistic view that suddenly meaning was revived. The goal and the destination were in front of me, the bike packed, and with it a renewed reason for living. What follows is the journal entries that I wrote along the way. These reflections were what I thought on the seemingly endless roads of the Wisconsin countryside. I hope you enjoy.

No comments: