Getting ready for the ride

Washington, D.C., USA

"Life is a journey. Enjoy the ride."

I remember using this quote in high school. It comes from an old Nissan advertisement campaign. Yeah, you remember it: the one with the old man that looked like Mr. Miyagi and the little dog that looked like Spudz MacKenzie.

I used the quote in a speech at my high school graduation. I was trying to be deep. I was trying to be profound. My interpretation and application of the quote was fairly straightfoward and simple. I talked about the "road of life" -- which ironically became another Nissan ad campaign a few years later -- and how there would be ups and downs, and forks in the road that represent major decisions in life. I probably quoted Frost (although I can't be certain) and Wonka (although I can be certain). The speech most certainly included clichéd phrases like "hopefully our paths will cross again" and "this has been a journey of joy." I told colorful stories of the journey, and somehow I remember relating those stories to the phrase hakuna matata from the Lion King. How exactly -- I'm still not sure.

In the end the speech was not very memorable. It was neither deep nor profound, although I do recall receiving many approving laughs from the audience.

But I'm a changed man now, and thus I decided to revisit the quote. The change is a big one. The first time I uttered those words, I was eighteen and thought that I knew all. Now I'm twenty-four and realize that I know very little. And so I'll take my simple translation from long ago and make it even simpler.

Life literally is a journey. We -- mankind -- can make cute little analogies of what that journey is. That's what I did in my speech six years ago. But if life is a journey, then let's make it just that: the act of traveling from one place to another throughout one's life.

Simple enough then.

Life is a journey and fortunately for me, my journey is going to include some pretty cool places over the next six weeks. From Prague to Athens to Istanbul, I'll be traversing all over Eastern Europe.

Last summer I was in Ethiopia, and many will recall the email listserve that I sent out: andysafricanadventures. All in all the emails seemed to be a hit, and I've had many friends and family members ask if I was going to set up something similar for the summer.

But in this day and age, a blog makes more sense. Now you can check up on me at anytime. No clogged inbox but still the same colorful stories from thousands of miles away. And hopefully I'll get some pictures up and running.

And so I welcome you to my blog. Just do one thing for me: enjoy the ride.