And now I go into the wild

Between the presents, parties, dinners, baking, studying (I had a final on Jan 12th)- I managed to squeek in a little reading over the holidays. My inlaws gave us a espresso/cappucinno/latte maker for christmas (which I am absolutely thrilled with), so in amongst all the chaos I was able to steal away a little quiet time, armed with an eggnog latte or two, to read "Into The Wild." I thouroughly enjoyed the book- I was so dissaponted that it was pulled from theaters before I got a chance to see it- so when I saw it on the shelf in Walmart I snapped it up.



The story about Chris McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) really made me think about the diparity between my own life and the life I want to live. I truely admire that he wasn't just a talker, but actually LIVED the way he wanted to. People have their opinions, especially when people do anything counter to what society says is the path we should take in life (ie- go to college, get a career, get married, have babies...), but I always love hearing about the people who don't just live according to status quo. People, myself included, get so stressed about reaching all those "milestones" on time that I truely believe they never take the ime to think about whether they really want the life they're pursuing or not. People like Chris inspire that little rebel in me who truely wants to live a life that is counter to what society thinks I should do.

By no means does this mean I want to become a wanderer, hitch-hiking all over the continent, but it does inspire in me the idea that it's never too late, and that there is never a better time than now to do those things you want to do while on this earth.

Scotty was very inspired by this family he read wbout in National Geographic who pulled their children out of school for a year and travelled the globe. They weren't rich by any means, but "paid" their way by working for different non-profit oganizations such as orphanages, bulding projects, conservation efforts... you name it. At the end of the year the kids said that they didn't even care about being a year behind their friends in school, but it was obvious that that year would be the most inspired and educational out of any other year they'll ever do in school. People had their opinions too, saying that they were stupid to quit their jobs, put their house on the market and just take off- but this family has something to hold onto that few of us will ever experience- but the craziest thing is that most of us won't experince something like that not because we don't have the means to do it...

But because we're scared.

John Krakauer's book is just one story, but, if anything, it'll give you a desire to take a journey, to explore this earth you live on, experience nature.... and perhaps close that gap between the life you do have and the life you want to have.