| European Adventure |
After the ski season ended in Vail, I moved back to Madison, Wisconsin for the summer. I kind of
half-heartedly looked for an engineering job, but the results reflected my effort. I wasn't very
confident in my abilities due to coasting my way through engineering school, which is probably
why I was unenthusiastic about pursuing work. Regardless, I wasn't particularly interested in
becoming an engineer, but I kind of felt like it was what I was supposed to do.
***Side-note
I think it's easy to get in the standard track to success: 1) Do well enough in high school to get
into a descent university. 2) Get a degree in a good major. 3a) Get a respectable job. 3b) Go to
grad school in order to prolong the time before you succumb to 3a. 4) Get married. Punch out a
couple kids. Take them on vacation during your one week off each year. And acquire as many
things as you can to confirm your success in both your own mind and in others'. Hope this doesn't
hit too close to home.
***End of Side-note
Towards the end of the summer, my boy Chris once again called me up. We discussed going to
Europe for a couple months. Good call, bro. At this point I needed something to do. It can be
very uncomfortable when people ask you what you're doing or what things you have coming up and
you don't have a good answer. I think many people go to grad school for precisely this reason.
Casually answering, "I'll be starting grad school in September." I was like this too. Coolly
explaining, "Yeah, I'm heading across the pond to Europe in a few weeks." Europe gave me my
answer. And I figured that at the very least I would have some traveling under my belt to affirm
a limited amount of life success. Call it an investment in my future posturing.
As it turned out though, Europe completely flipped my life upside down. My eyes opened to the
world and all of the possibilities it held. There was no longer only one road to 'success'. There
are so many things to see and do and, more importantly, so many ways to live. This was and still is
the most significant realization of my life. It has led me to my current life teaching kids that I
absolutely adore in Thailand. I've also been able to continue exploring the globe with my ample
vacation time. Suffice it to say, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.
I actually feel like I got lucky when I couldn't get a job. That luck only presented itself in
retrospect, but it turned out that all of my mucking around in University and taking my
opportunity at higher learning for granted may have saved me from a more cookie-cutter molded
life. Maybe I'm just trying to view things in a positive light. Maybe I'm just hating on those who
'succeeded'. Maybe my life would be better if I was on the other side of the fence, but what I
do know is that I'm very happy with my life now and the experiences I've had. My grass is green
enough for me.
Am I being defensive? Maybe. Am I being honest? Absolutely yes. Enjoy the pictures.
half-heartedly looked for an engineering job, but the results reflected my effort. I wasn't very
confident in my abilities due to coasting my way through engineering school, which is probably
why I was unenthusiastic about pursuing work. Regardless, I wasn't particularly interested in
becoming an engineer, but I kind of felt like it was what I was supposed to do.
***Side-note
I think it's easy to get in the standard track to success: 1) Do well enough in high school to get
into a descent university. 2) Get a degree in a good major. 3a) Get a respectable job. 3b) Go to
grad school in order to prolong the time before you succumb to 3a. 4) Get married. Punch out a
couple kids. Take them on vacation during your one week off each year. And acquire as many
things as you can to confirm your success in both your own mind and in others'. Hope this doesn't
hit too close to home.
***End of Side-note
Towards the end of the summer, my boy Chris once again called me up. We discussed going to
Europe for a couple months. Good call, bro. At this point I needed something to do. It can be
very uncomfortable when people ask you what you're doing or what things you have coming up and
you don't have a good answer. I think many people go to grad school for precisely this reason.
Casually answering, "I'll be starting grad school in September." I was like this too. Coolly
explaining, "Yeah, I'm heading across the pond to Europe in a few weeks." Europe gave me my
answer. And I figured that at the very least I would have some traveling under my belt to affirm
a limited amount of life success. Call it an investment in my future posturing.
As it turned out though, Europe completely flipped my life upside down. My eyes opened to the
world and all of the possibilities it held. There was no longer only one road to 'success'. There
are so many things to see and do and, more importantly, so many ways to live. This was and still is
the most significant realization of my life. It has led me to my current life teaching kids that I
absolutely adore in Thailand. I've also been able to continue exploring the globe with my ample
vacation time. Suffice it to say, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.
I actually feel like I got lucky when I couldn't get a job. That luck only presented itself in
retrospect, but it turned out that all of my mucking around in University and taking my
opportunity at higher learning for granted may have saved me from a more cookie-cutter molded
life. Maybe I'm just trying to view things in a positive light. Maybe I'm just hating on those who
'succeeded'. Maybe my life would be better if I was on the other side of the fence, but what I
do know is that I'm very happy with my life now and the experiences I've had. My grass is green
enough for me.
Am I being defensive? Maybe. Am I being honest? Absolutely yes. Enjoy the pictures.
| Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Amsterdam was the first stop. Chris and I had every intention of making this trip one involving many quality experiences and seeing as much as we could. Amsterdam didn't agree with that plan. We forcibly removed ourselves after about 3 days of, well, whatever the opposite of accomplishment is. It was still fun, but the timing was all off for us. |
| Paris, France |
Paris was the anti-Amsterdam. It was the right place at the right time. It was my favorite city
we visited in Europe. We went to all sorts of museums and other sites and were continuously
walking all over town for a week straight. I met a girl I really liked who I met up with at the end
of the trip. We got to celebrate 'White Nights' up on Momartre by Le Sacre Couer. We drank
wine at night in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. We bought baguettes and meat and made
sandwiches in any of an abundance of beautiful spots. What this city did for us was revitalize our
hope and spirit for this trip. It transformed the trip into more than just a continent-wide party.
we visited in Europe. We went to all sorts of museums and other sites and were continuously
walking all over town for a week straight. I met a girl I really liked who I met up with at the end
of the trip. We got to celebrate 'White Nights' up on Momartre by Le Sacre Couer. We drank
wine at night in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. We bought baguettes and meat and made
sandwiches in any of an abundance of beautiful spots. What this city did for us was revitalize our
hope and spirit for this trip. It transformed the trip into more than just a continent-wide party.
