Thoughts (Part 1)

As I sit during my nine hour layover at JFK (yes, the wait is not ideal but for 360 USD from Seattle to Bogota, I cannot be picky), thoughts of the events which have enabled me to begin my trip and continue when it feels like I am "engaged in a trial of strength with the universe" (thank you Ted Simon for the perfect words), slowly arrange themselves into sentences.

Although my childhood was by no means carefree, I am a product of those experiences, and as such I have no complaints. The first seeds of adventure were planted in me when I heard the tales of my father's travels around the world where they lay dormant for many years in the fertile soil of my early memories of places most North Americans would consider exotic. As my interests and aspirations evolved I was left with a constant feeling of inadequacy which manifested itself into a desire to differentiate myself in as many ways as possible. To continue with my earlier analogy, the seeds of travel germinated with the conclusion of my first real relationship.