Get outta here!

I recently found out that a good friend of mine has not been to Times Square. Ever.

This would be no big deal if it were not for the fact that we live about 45 minutes away by train and her job is directly across the street from the train station. Seriously! In defense of my friend, she has been to other parts of NYC and she did live in Colorado for many years, so it isn’t as if she goes nowhere. But the thought that the greatest city in the world is literally right down the road and there are so many people in my area who have not been there jump-started my squeaky little brain into forming a tangent.

I am not formally educated. Yes, I graduated high school and reeeellleeyyy wanted to go to college and live the whole student experience. I wanted a degree. I started the process of enrolling in an east coast university and almost attended until I realized that I had no way of paying for it. My dreams were dashed and my plans of being a high school English and Drama teacher had officially received the old “kabosh”. So what did I do? I moved away. If I wasn’t able to get the fancy embossed, stamped and signed piece of paper I so desperately craved then I may as well change my scenery. Little did I know that I would end up getting a “world class” education. I now have a BA in intra-personal communication with a masters concentrated in adaptation skills and a doctorate in self-reliance and confidence.

My “undergrad” years were spent exploring the Southwest and the surrounding areas. I learned so much about myself and the people whom I encountered simply because I had to. I did not have the guided and structured system of college to rely on. I had a core group of friends and we were forced into the real world of jobs and rent and responsibility at a young age. So we made sure that we took the time to go out into the great outdoors as much as possible. We went camping a lot. It was cheap. We picked places on the map and decided to check them out. Sometimes we simply got in the car and drove. We didn’t have GPS. We didn’t even have cell phones. I know, I just dated myself there. I’ll get over it.

These were mostly day and weekend trips but it came time for the senior thesis. We decided to go to Alaska. Three friends and I packed ourselves into my 1991 Honda Civic hatchback and traversed the Alaska/Canada highway to “see” Anchorage. Anchorage sucks. However, everything and everyone we encountered while in Alaska were amazing. We learned that you can grow an instant family in a shanty town made up of tents and tarps. People from all over the world came together for a common experience to process stinky, slimy salmon and come out on the other side profoundly humbled and endeared to simple existence and the true meaning of hard work.

Upon returning to Albuquerque, my father suddenly passed away. I was devastated and felt that it was time to move on. I had the opportunity to work on a dude ranch in central Colorado. Hells yeah! I packed up and made the move by myself which was a big step for me, as I had gained a family from my years in ABQ and felt as if I were leaving home yet again.

Taylor canyon in central Colorado is where I found myself. I gained a true appreciation for seasonal living, and Crested Butte, CO is a place where people are because they want to be there, not simply because they have to. There is magic in the Rocky mountains and it called directly to my soul. It is there that I learned that I am a goddess. Don’t get me wrong. I am not delusional or egotistical. At some point in her life, every woman should come to the awareness that she is a goddess. I simply realized it in an early, uncomplicated place in mine. My time in Colorado was blissful and free. I had formed solid bonds with people and the earth and most importantly, my true self.

For as profound and life-changing as my time was in Colorado, I knew that it was short lived. Shortly after my father passed away, I started planning my trip to Europe. My brother, sisters and I wanted to honor his memory and take a trip to his hometown of Collesano, Sicily. I decided to stay for a while. And damn it, I was going to see the rest of Europe while I was at it!

Nobody that I knew either had the means or the where-with-all to backpack through western Europe for the three months that I wanted to take. I was going solo. I excitedly planned out my route, listening to my Italian aunts, friends, acquaintances, and siblings warn me that such a trip alone would be too dangerous. But I couldn’t back down simply out of fear of the unknown. It was my education in people that reassured me that no matter what sticky situation I found myself in, I could reason and figure my way out of it. That and the fact that my mother was cheering me on didn’t hurt, either. She knew that I could do it. Sometimes, a girl just needs her mommy.

Needless to say, my trek was astonishing. The memories that I have of the mind-bogglingly ancient and gorgeous places that I saw will never be erased from my brain. I was there. I did it. And I was almost never alone. I met so many amazing people, young and old, who were brave and or stubborn enough to do the same thing that I was doing—learning. We were absorbing every little nuance, every minute detail of the diverse and richly textured world around us, knowing that no matter where we ended up, people are at their core all the same. Just that. People.

In my school of life, I gained a real world education in world history, communications, civil engineering, international relations, accounting, trade, entertainment, architecture, art history, culture, geography, the list goes on and on. There was one night that may have served as the self-defense class, but that was averted, quite thankfully.

So I now speak to you as a seasoned expert. Explore. I’m not saying that you have to plan a ’round the world backpacking excursion or hunt with the lions in the African grasslands (although that sounds pretty freakin’ awesome!). Just set aside some time to take in your world. Do it in baby steps if you need to—pick a landmark close by and take the afternoon to encounter it. Then, ride the train to the nearest metro center and make a left out of the station. See where it takes you. See who you meet. It may surprise you how much you learn.