Adventure is out there.

Cultivated within me is this endless desire to travel and see the world for myself.

It’s in my blood.

From year to year the amount of dream destinations continue to grow – England, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Egypt, New York, Hawaii…the list goes on.

Before the age of eight I had lived in the Czech Republic and visited places like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in France. After moving back to the states our family had taken road trips from Georgia to visit family in Indiana and Florida. By the time I graduated high school I'd taken missions trips to Ecuador and Mexico while also adding a few more states to my list of travels. I grew up under the impression that everyone had these same adventures.

With that in mind, you can see how strange it is for me to realize that there are people who have never left the country before or even their home state and still have no desire to. In a way…I kind of imagine these folks as the “Bilbo Baggins” of today, deciding for so much of their lives that travels and adventures just aren’t part of their story. Well, if Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End had stayed put in the Shire he might have lead a comfortable, fulfilling life, but he would have missed out on the exciting adventures that lay beyond his front door. A challenge awaited him and by taking the risk of walking into the unknown, he embarked on the journey of a lifetime.  

I’ve never been a Bilbo Baggins…of Bag-End, that is. 

I’ve always thought it’d be grand to be the Bilbo Baggins that wandered through an unknown world, taking it all in. Being so small in a world so vast. I’ve wanted to have my own “There and Back Again” story to tell. One filled with adventures, dynamic companions, and plenty of pit stops along the way. An open ended journey - or rather an unexpected one.

Over the years I'll admit I’ve had my fair share of incredible trips, yet there are still times where I wish I could pack everything up and continue exploring the world that lies far beyond my front door. I can’t quite explain the feeling, but it’s there. Once you set off on a journey, you never return quite the same. Adventure is out there and I can't wait to be a part of it again.