The Start of a New Adventure #TBT #HogsAbroad

As I sit in silent reflection on the first leg of my flight to New Zealand, I’m watching a beautiful sunset over the Rocky Mountains while we chase it west. I can’t help but feel a degree of sadness that again, I find myself leaving my home, a place I love so very much. This feeling is quickly smothered by my excitement for the endless possibilities ahead of me. I must start by giving thanks for all the opportunities I have been blessed with, as it’s imperative to never take for granted all the positives in life. Friends, family, education, and the ability to travel are all positives in life right now, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Ultimately, “this too will pass,” a sad reminder that nothing in this life is forever; this includes the pains from the lowest lows to the joys of the highest highs. Knowing this, I strive to take life moment by moment, and put everything in perspective. In this moment, there are two very important concepts that I need to evaluate and embrace, Change and Challenge. Please know, this writing and any future writings are not meant to be judgmental, and by no means do I claim to have this life figured out.

Take these more as a snapshot of my mind and any given moment. If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that there are many truths to nearly any situation, and that any individual person’s beliefs can be the truest thing in the world to that person. This can be a beautiful thing, as we can constantly learn and grow from each other simply by listening to the way others see life.

 Change:

“The only constant in life is change,” a quote we’ve probably all heard, but everyone has their different way of approaching and coping with change. For me, change is a constant pursuit. Change involves heartbreak, uncomfortable situations, unfamiliar territory, and many risks, however, it is ultimately is the seed of growth. Of course, it’s easy to change when things are hard; the real challenge is to seek change when everything is going well. Change is also imperative for self-evaluation, as it’s never easy to look deep inside yourself and see the habits, thought processes, or lifestyles choices that are holding you back. By challenging yourself with change, you can evaluate tendencies that are destructive to where you want to go, as well as the ones that have led you in the positive direction.

Challenge:

A comfort zone may very well be the most dangerous place on this earth. Challenging yourself is the only way to promote love and success in your life. If, as humans, we always stayed in our comfort zone, we would probably be millions of years behind in our evolutionary process. By no means do challenges always end well, and in fact, they may even end up not working out as you had wanted most of the time. That being said, this is how we, as humans, learn what we want and how to get it.
I would say I am a very happy person, and I’ve been living a very comfortable lifestyle. I’m currently at a major intersection in my life, so there is no better time to challenge myself to change.

As I’ve prepared myself for this journey, I have been keeping a close eye on my habits, and the thoughts that have been going through my head. I then have started the effort to purge myself from these habits, starting with selling most of my belongings. Slowly, I have been pushing myself away from my phone addiction and have avoided the incessant need to be on social media. Through this purge, I hope I can determine the habits that have a positive effect on my life and happiness, and the happiness of those I encounter, from the habits that have no effect, and especially from the ones that are negatively effecting my physical, mental, and emotional health. My goal is to then build a lifestyle based around the things that are most important to me, and rid myself of these other toxic traits.

Selling or donating most of my belongings was as much a need as it was a want. It helped fund the adventures ahead, but more than that, it has given me a fresh start. For every 10 things I got rid of, I can replace them with 1 very important experience or necessity. It was really liberating pairing down my life (at least for the foreseeable future), to just a suitcase and a backpack). Obviously, I will not be able to live this way forever, but the contrast from the consumer centric mindset I have lived with my entire life will both generate challenges and lead to changes in my future. My desire is that I will gain a better perspective on life, and a better appreciation for the things that I do have through these challenges. Then I can build a sustainable, healthy, loving environment for the rest of my life (which will naturally involve a lot of changes as well).

What are my expectations going into this voyage? A question that I couldn’t help but ask myself a fair share of times. I have come to the realization that I must and do have zero expectations of this trip. I simply want this trip to be exactly what it is, and not try to force it to be something else. For me, this experience is currently an empty white board, how it gets filled in is entirely with the people that this earth puts in my path, and the experiences I organically have. What I will not do is force anything out of this, whether it’s relationships or experiences. This doesn’t mean I won’t allow myself to have goals.

My goals are that I will make deep, meaningful connections with new people, that I will learn new things about myself and the way I want to live this one life I have, and that I can have a lasting, meaningful impact while doing these things. I have developed a passion for sustainability, and my goal is that I can grow this passion while overseas by volunteering and taking related classes. Sustainability can mean different things to different people, but to me it refers to the ability for something/anything to perpetuate for as long as it is needed.

Of course, environmental sustainability is a huge part of this, as I find myself awe struck by the beauty of mother earth and I want future generations of humans as well as the other inhabitants that call this planet home to experience this same beauty. Sustainability is much more than the environment though, it can relate to many things, like culture, art, relationships, lifestyles, and even happiness. Ultimately, my life goal is to live a life that can sustain all of these things, while pursuing a meaningful career. I hope that New Zealand will be a catalyst that pushes me closer to this goal, but by no means do I expect it to be.
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Read more from Colin at https://planestrainsandtravelsustained.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the IFSA-Butler program at the University of Auckland, visit http://www.ifsa-butler.org/university-of-auckland.html