Is this real life?

You just gotta keep on livin’ man. L-I-V-I-N

My new goal is to do some outdoor activity each day for the next 30 days. I’m banking on this lighting a fire under this constant urge I’ve had to “do more” that has been so severely hindered by my laziness.

Want to join me for an adventure? Hit me up on Facebook, yo!

Today doesn’t count in the 30, but I’ll share my experiences that finally got me to do this.

I road my bike through some trails in a local state park to a beautiful spot on some boulders overlooking the water. The boulders dropped off just enough for me to think I had a chance at making it into the water if I jumped. Before diving in, I went into the water and made sure there weren’t any jagged rocks awaiting me. I had 9 feet of open water below the surface. Game time.

The wind continued to blow in my face as I looked out at the water, as if it were urging me not to jump. But one time, after about 10 minutes of me running over the pros and cons of jumping, the wind has at my back, and I finally felt my feet leave the rock’s surface. WOAH.

I made it. With a tiny rush of adrenaline, I went a little higher. A little more courage and SPLASH! I had made it, again!

I swam for awhile, burning off the buzz of jumping and climbed up the rocks and let the sun dry me off.

A guy came up behind me and said, “You’ve got the most beautiful spot out here.” He had that right. I didn’t say much in return (because I didn’t plan on swimming, thus didn’t have a bathing suit, and was just sitting there in my Stewie Griffin boxers).

The point is that this only took a few hours. A few hours to see some new parts of the forest, conquer some fear and go for swim. I can spend two or three hours of every day doing this sort of stuff. The day before, I had gone fishing and spent the whole day relaxing by the water and campfire. I feel so great doing stuff like that. Why do I keep myself from experiencing it?

It’s time to start doing. Camping. Hiking. Kayaking. Backpacking. Fishing. Biking. Rock climbing. Whatever else crosses my path.

p.s. Six Flags and trips to other amusement parks fall under the category of outdoor adventures.

Millennial version of mustering up the perfect words to impress a girl in school.

And after about 45 minutes of AIM silence.

“g2g bye!”

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything, blogosphere! Do not fret, however—I have indeed been thinking about you and have missed you greatly. 

Where have I been? Well I’m glad I asked myself that question (since no one else has). 

I’ve recently settled in to the, for lack of a better metaphor, chapter of my life. 22 days ago I was offered a social media position at a wonderful, all-natural skincare company called Aidance Skincare. 21 days ago I completed my last college assignment and officially earned those last credits finalizing the completion of my bachelor’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Four days ago I packed up belongings and moved into a house in Providence, Rhode Island with two really great people—a New Hampshire native, Craig, and a German girl going for her master’s from Johnson and Wales, Franzi. And yesterday was my first day of work at Aidance. 

It’s weird how we grow up. I know it may sound cliche, but I really think it is. It’s been so long since we were clueless of any sense of time other than bedtime to signal the days and our birthdays to mark the years, we just view time as this thing always passing rather than arriving. I remember this day in the photo, climbing into boxes as if it were this magical place that seemed filled with limitless possibilities of fantabulous(< I did not know that was an accepted word) wonders. I remember getting a kitten I named Tigger when I was just two years old, sitting in the backseat of my dad’s care as we got a box with the cutest little orange kitten you’ve ever seen(fo’ reals). We all have our childhood memories and things that remind us of them—and we have to remember not to forget about them. These were the times where everything was an adventure and the simplest things dazzled our minds. But grownups tend not to think that way; at least most of them, any-who. In these recent, very quickly passing weeks, the idea of being a “grownup” continued to run through my head as I discussed health insurance, taxes, and even shopping for my first real mattress away from home(I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress for the last couple years, my back was killing me! I think that’s a primary reason I wanted to graduate college a bit earlier than expected)—an adult is what I’ll be for the rest of my life. How am I going to handle being old?!

But even though I may have to grow up and worry about all those things that life forces you to worry about these days, I can always be young at heart. Even just my couple days at work for Aidance Skincare has reassured me that you can continue to have fun and enjoy life and those around you while still being a great success and doing some pretty cool things. I am truly excited for the work I am doing and I literally cannot wait to do it again tomorrow, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

If we allow life’s little quarrels and stresses to get to us too much, we will allow them to run our lives and keep us trapped in that dull, soulless cardboard box that a lot of old people are in. But if we focus on the good, doing good for others and, as Darien Lake Resort would put it, “remember it’s fun”, we’ll be able to open up that world of imagination, creativity and innovation that the cardboard box revealed to us as children. Don’t let, whatever it is, get you down. I want to see you smiling and looking up at the world. Show us all what you’re made of. I’m ready for it all. I’m ready to take on the “real world”. I’m ready to do great things. 

Let’s do this.