Just over two weeks have passed on the road; driving from city to
city; moving from couch to couch; yet, no matter what surface I've slept on, be
it a couch, cot, bed, or arm chair - the experience has been one to never
forget.
These experiences have reshaped my thinking and I have in turn
reevaluated the blog and felt the need to adjust the purpose to some extent.
Though I still highly recommend applying to drive with Lyft, but
more importantly, my hope for continuing to write this blog is:
To inspire others to travel using Couchsurfing and
hostels
You see... I've come to understand that more than anything else,
life is about the connections you make, the lives you touch, the things you've
learned, and the ideas and experiences that you have SHARED with
others.
To me, there is no better way to open your mind, gain a multitude
of perspectives, and make a bountiful amount of connections than to travel and
meet others through Couchsurfing and hostels. Best of all, I have come to find
out that this is extremely easy and feasible to do, yet sadly, not done nearly
enough.
I am fed up with people being astonished when they hear that I am
taking a road trip across America sleeping on couches. They ask me, "yeah,
but what do you.. do?" and I'm sick of seeing their shock when I respond
"Right now I'm just traveling". I want this to be a thing; something
commonplace; a right of passage that everyone should take...yet, I feel as
though it is something seen as abnormal and perhaps crazy.
I could be working a stable job making 40k, but I chose to travel
America and sleep on stranger’s couches, because wake up people - life is not a
race. When you eventually die, your tombstone will not say "1st
place", nor will it say "last"; but you just might have more
people at your funeral that will laugh and talk about that fun time in the hot
tub.
So I encourage all of you, whether you are a business owner, are
self-employed, are employed at a company, or are a wealthy investor - take some
time off, go on a road trip, visit friends you haven't seen in awhile, use
Couchsurfing, and stay at a few hostels to meet people from all over the world.
