I’m sitting in the Portland airport with only 13% battery life left on my laptop, but it seemed appropriate to write this post in a place that’s become home lately.
I’ve been back in America for over a month now. I know, I know, you’re all tired of hearing about the year and how many times my heart broke and have asked all the questions about the weirdest food I ate to what my favorite country was, to how home has been.
I’ll spare you more details of the craziness known as the World Race and answer the question I get the most: “What are you doing next?”
In less than a month, I’ll be back out again. Nepal. It was our first country on the Race, and I’ll be returning with my friend, Danica, for three weeks. We will be partnering with Adventures in Missions again, and will be helping with earthquake relief.
Nepal was one of the hardest months for me on the Race. I’ll spare you the details on that, too (or you can go through the archives), but when I said goodbye to Nepal nearly a year ago, I knew it wouldn’t be the end. I’d return someday. It was too beautiful to leave behind forever, and I had more to learn. Cue August 2015.
One would think that the question “what are you doing next?” would be asked only post-Race. But it seemed to wiggle its way into at least one conversation in every country. Which is really fun for a person to answer when, for their entire life, they haven’t known what they wanted to do, and the World Race was finally a huge answer and yet being immersed in that huge answer wasn’t enough once it began.
Yeah, it’s frustrating. But somewhere in the blur of the Race, I started answering.
“I want to write.”
“I want to tell people’s stories.”
“There are people who live in the middle of nowhere in a village in India who no one will ever know about unless someone writes their story. And I want to do that, I want people to know their story.”
Cue dramatic music and explosions of happy feelings and massive dreams and… fear. Because for the first time in maybe ever, I have a direction. And it’s not highly encouraged or highly paid in the day of American dreams, but I’m doing it.
So my plan after I return from Nepal is to pack up yet again and move to Gainesville, Georgia (the state, not the country as many have clarified) to attend the Center of Global Action. I will be part of the story track, where the goal is to write a book. On what exactly? Stay tuned. Things are about to get messy.
If you would like to donate toward my Nepal trip (trip is covered with extra funds from the Race, but airfare is about $1,500), please email me at [email protected]
or send checks to:
2120 S. Selkirk Dr.
Spokane Valley, WA 99016
To contribute to my time at CGA, click here.
Again, you all have been the greatest support throughout this entire adventure, which little did we all know is not even close to over yet. But I am down to 4%, and my flight is boarding, so for now…
