I will be flying to Chile in 3 days. I will be volunteering with the English Opens Doors Program teaching English in the southern Bio-Bio region. (Google Chile Bio-Bio and check out the images = RAD.)
Before that, I must finish editing a crazy music video I directed, sell a bunch of my stuff to have adequate funds, and configure my life into a single large backpack.
I have a one-way ticket and not sure how long I'll be gone. My position is for 5 months but I plan to backpack and explore a significant time afterwards.
I'm preparing myself for nearly any condition since I'll be experiencing cool winters in the south and will eventually explore desserts, mountains, jungles, and more later during the summer.
I am also going to explore becoming a travel documentary filmmaker and photographer and how to shoot in these various conditions while moving with a single backpack.
Packing and preparing has been quite the challenge as my mind mulls over the utility, versatility, and weight of each item. I believe I have nearly acquired everything I think I need. I will find out in the next day or two whether or not I can fit everything I think I need in my backpack.
I've experienced a much higher lever of stress than normal the past week. I'm feeling better though as I check off my last minute To-Do items (vaccinations, dentist, etc...).
I think part of that stress is mentally preparing for a really big new chapter in my life. I don't know exactly what it is, but it goes beyond the volunteer position. Once again, I've done another purge of my decreasing amount of physical possessions which I store in a nook at my sisters. A nook is a space under the basement stairs and not a small technological device from which many people read many books.
I find myself becoming more vigilant of getting rid of stuff and ignoring the notion of "Maybe I'll need it one day." I've realized that by the time I need "it" again, I can get a new one. I find this notion can sometimes translate beyond the physical to the mental thoughts and I consider what thoughts I hold onto and what thoughts are holding me back...
But I'm not gonna take that tangent. Instead I want to share some old school papers I found during this physical purge. While looking them over, I reflected on what ideas, traits, etc may define me now that were present with my younger self.
The first document is a worksheet titled, "All About Me," written by my 5th grade self in 1997:
1. Physical Description Short, Fast, Strong, Big
2. Favorite Food Pizza
3. Least Favorite Food Egg Rolls
4. Favorite Place to Visit Toys "R" Us
5. Favorite Book Franklin the Turtle
6. A happy day in my life was when... My soccer team took 1st place in a tournament
7. A sad day in my life was when... I got in big trouble
8. Favorite Movie Jurassic Park
9. If I could change anything in the world, I would... Change Pollution
10. Soccer makes me happy.
11. Some day I would like to... Win the lottery
12. I often worry about... Not having my room clean
13. I feel good at school when... I do great on a test
14. If I could trade places with any one in the world, I would trade with nobody
15. My favorite animal is my dog Shadow
16. I think a good role model for me is My mom
I will now retake the worksheet as a 25 year old:
1. Physical Description Tall, Slim, Athletic Build, Smiling
2. Favorite Food Various smoothies I make for myself
3. Least Favorite Food Most meat and dairy
4. Favorite Place to Visit Hmmm... Michigan. Ann Arbor in the summertime with friends and family. Western Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. But perhaps only to visit and not to live...
5. Favorite Book Ishmael, Born to Run, The Dharma Bums, The Secret
6. A happy day in my life was when... I paid off my student loans. All of summer of 2008, 2009. 2010, 2011... I guess I really like summer.
7. A sad day in my life was when... Several winter days in Michigan. A pet rabbit named Charmander died and we had him cremated.
8. Favorite Movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, This is England, Gummo, Ken Park, In the Mood for Love, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
9. If I could change anything in the world, I would... keep changing myself and assist lifestyle change of the global population to direct individuals towards health, happiness, and fulfillment. What might that entail? Not sure. But probably make things more simple: work, food, needs, daily life...
10. Friends, Family, Love, and Sunshine make me happy.
11. Some day I would like to... Live off the grid with my lover, family, and/or friends
12. I often worry about... Not having enough time to do
13. I feel good at school when... it doesn't require money or a test
14. If I could trade places with any one in the world, I would trade with nobody
15. My favorite animals are Alaskan Husky, Sea Turtles, Tigers, Pandas, Koalas
16. I think a good role model for me is My mom, Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man," and that crazy naked person that just outran the cops
Next up is a document of books I checked out from the library for the accelerated reader program in 1997:
- 3 different titles of The Magic School Bus
- Where the Wild Things Are...
- The Haunted Mask
- Song and Dance Man
- Let's Get Invisible!
- The Grouchy Ladybug
Very interesting! I feel like some of these titles may be well below 5th grade reading level. But I do recall getting free candy if you got a perfect score per book test... and I do love candy!
Next up is math document:
It contains 23 long division problems. 15 of the problems are blank (maybe I wrote on a separate sheet of paper, maybe not) and the remaining 8 I wrote "Skip" under them.
Perhaps I knew at a young age that I should just use the calculator in my desk and that long division is a waste.
The next document is a worksheet titled, "Life on Earth Decision-Making Frame." It has 3 boxes that I filled out from which I received a blue star:
Question Box: Is there life everywhere on Earth?
Important Info: Parts of Antarctica there are no life. Like in the coldest part and in the water there is no life. The deepest part of the ocean is unexplored. Parts of the desert are also unexplored.
Decision Box: No there is not!
This was interesting and I like the title. I think University's should give out a similar worksheet with your diploma when you graduate. Perhaps a "Life on Earth After College Decision-Making Frame" and one tailored to those who study the liberal arts, have little chance employment, and no clear direction for life on Earth.
I must say that I am disappointed my teacher didn't tell me when I was wrong. It took me more than a decade later to realize there are microscopic worms and organisms that live in arctic and antarctic ice. Knowing that would have been much cooler than getting a blue star on my paper.
I apparently made decisions with exclamation points when I was 10 years old. What self confidence! I think we all should make greater efforts to make decisions in our lives with exclamation points. If it turns out we're wrong, who cares! At least we'll know there is Life on Earth and really cool worms that live in the ice.
I also found this document interesting since I have considered working in Antarctica within the last 3 months. I met someone in Puerto Rico whose daughter's best friend is a baker on one of the science bases! A frickin' baker in Antarctica! That's crazy, right?! Well, I guess scientists have to eat.
Before you write me off as crazy, which I may very well be, I will give you my romanticized logic:
- I am most inspired to learn when I surround myself with new environments, people, communities.
- In college I was surrounded by some people that wanted to change the world and some people that wanted to drink a lot and not figure out how to keep the world spinning. For several years post-college I was surround by a lot of my liberal arts filmmaking friends. Within the last year, I've surrounded myself by new age kinda people and ideas which has inspired me to learn and take control of my health while doing things I once thought incapable. I will be surrounded by a totally new environment and people in Chile and will be inspired to learn the language and culture. Who and what else can I surround myself with to learn? What about scientists? Yes scientists!
- I realized in Puerto Rico that I really do enjoy working in the greenhouse and partaking in the growth of my own food. I was at peace outside.
- I am considering grad school to learn a new subject or interest. But I wouldn't do it if that required I reenter education loans and debt. I think debt is counter-intuitive to life. If you think that is a radical statement to make that is okay. I won't explain myself now. I would rather be radical and skateboard and eat pizza.
- What better way to learn while being surrounded by scientists and working in a greenhouse in one of the harshest environments on Earth?
- And perhaps surrounding myself by scientists could be one route to finding the dream job or work as a travel or environmental filmmaker. National Geographic here I come.
So maybe after Chile I'll be in Antarctica. Right now it's just a fun idea twirling around in my head. Being physically closer to Antarctica makes it twirl a little more.
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If you have any insight or reflections from 1997, 5th grade, or Antarctica, please leave me a comment on the post. I'm interested to hear where you were then.
[And instead of editing, packing, or sleeping, I spend an hour writing and thinking about ice worms. Sometimes I just don't know where I'm going... physically or mentally...]
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Exclamation points! Yes!
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