The last few nights I have been waking up at 4:30 like clock work. I don’t know why. Maybe after eleven months of traveling my internal clock is shot. Anyway, when I woke up this morning I think it really hit me for the first time that I will be on a flight to America in a week. This is the part that makes every world racer nervous. I remember being worried about acclimating back into America at training camp months before we left even. I think leaving America was much simpler than returning will be.  There is just something about it…You can’t really travel the whole world and not somewhat detach from your previous reality. I think ending the WR will be like starting over-taking a whole world of experiences and perspective and reshaping it into a better more enlightened version of myself. 



In the WR community people generally refer to their life before the race as “real life” or their “former life” or “normal life”. Regardless, there is something in this experience that feels completely disconnected from the way everything has operated in our lives prior to now, and we’ve been warned time and time again that it will be tough to go home. That people won’t really understand us, which will frustrate us. And that we will share a life long bond with those who have taken the journey along side-the only ones that can truly understand. Our squad has formed it’s own little world. A world where I never have to be alone if I don’t want to. A world where sharing your heart is a daily practice. A world where conversations center around God, purpose, and the things that are real in life. It’s an intimidating thing to step out of. One advantage of the WR is that things always keep moving and there is very little time to process. If we could process everything when it happened I think it would weigh us down. However, I have a hunch the coming months will afford me much time for processing. For the record, I hate processing.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a few little gems that I have learned in the past 11 months:

-I’m not always right.

-You can get used to a squatty potty.

-The people in the world that are poorest tend to be the happiest and most joyful, and those with money tend to be the most unhappy and unfulfilled.

-There is no really good excuse not to adopt. The world is full of abandoned children. They are dying and they need families.

-There is no normal


-There is maybe nothing nobler one can do than redeem a life and give someone a future.

-Thai food is arguably the best in the world, not to mention economical (Pad Thai=$1).

-Most of the people that are keeping the world from falling apart aren’t in the spotlight; they are the quiet world changers and they exist in nearly every village in every country in the world.

-Once you are enlightened you are responsible.

-In America we really underestimate the number of people than fit in any given mode of transportation.

-When it comes to fulfillment, purpose always trumps money and success.

-God hasn’t forgotten about anyone. I think he’s just waiting for more of us to follow his example, and stop forgetting about each other.

-Personal space and alone time don’t exist in the 3rd world.

-You can’t ever achieve selflessness. It is a daily fight.

-People become much more attractive when they stop worrying so much about their outsides and

begin cultivating their insides (so please forgive us if we smell).

**This beautiful blog was written by Jillian Gale Hensley and totally describes my thoughts.