Into the Wild

So I was watching Into the Wild again the other night. It's going to be one of my most watched movies and most read books. The courage that it must have taken to just walk away from life is inspiring. I keep wish I had his courage, I already have his philosophy. I have three more years in my University program but maybe when I'm done I'll finally have the courage to take off. I don't think I would do it the same as he did. For starters, I'm from Canada, and I don't like the cold. I'd make sure I had things in case of an emergency, not things like a phone or money but i'd let someone know I was going.

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild. - Alexander Supertramp

I like the idea of being a leather tramp but there are so many words for it; vagabond, gypsy, wanderlust, beatnink, nomadic...They all come down to the same things; wandering and no possessions. I wish that having possessions did not mean as much in our world as it does. I think i'd like to live in a simple cabin, built from natural things, have no electricity, wood stove for warmth, candles for light, feet for travel, garden for food, no phone, no computer...just freedom.

Wanderlust

I'm starting to read On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I've wanted to read Kerouac for a while now but never actually got around to it. Some say that Christ McCandless was the modern Kerouac, I love McCandless' story so I hope I find this one interesting as well.

The urge I have to leave everything behind is only growing as I do. At first it was just someone else's idea, something I never would think I would actually do. However, now I wish I could do it. I'm so tempted to do it and I can't wait for summer so I can go somewhere new. The urge to travel and to keep moving and finding new experiences is growing. I know that it can be dangerous, especially for a girl, but I'm willing to crash. I'm willing to go out there and have things go wrong, to learn from my mistakes.

smooth as we drift

laughing with glee

willing to crash

--Deca Caszm

Kids these days

I feel I must warn you, this post is going to be very much a rant.

One thing that has always bothered me is children who try to be older than they are. You know who I'm talking about. The young kids with iPods, cell phones, wearing make up, in relationships and acting like they own the world. What happened to kids playing hide & seek, building forts and being outside with friends all day? Tim McGraw sums it up in four lines in his song Back When;

We got too complicated

It's all way over-rated

I like the old and out-dated

Way of life

Nobody enjoys the simple things in life anymore. Everything is about the newest technology, the biggest thing money can buy and materialistic gain. Life has become a race to own the most, hardly anyone takes the time to do what they want to do. People say they wish they could do something, they wish they could take that trip they have been talking about. Why wish? Get up and take that trip. Stop worrying so much and enjoy life a little more.

If only we could go back to the days of penpals, family trips and board games. Instead we are stuck in a world of emails, texting and instant messages. A world where family means less and less, where there is either too much hate. Movies, TV and computers have replaced having fun with friends. Sitting around in a restaurant chatting for hours, hiking trips and camping trips with friends are not what they used to be.

Society has become so technology reliant, and I know I am not an exception. I use my computer, cell phone and iPod daily. I wonder what would happen if we lost the technology we have now. What would people do if the internet stopped working? How about if cell phone service was not to be found? Would we even be able to survive without the telephone? Would losing any of these technologies send us into an apocalypse?

I can't help but wish I could leave it all behind. Do as Christopher McCandless did. Give away all my money and hitch hike across the country. I should take my own advice, stop wishing and just do it. Maybe when i'm done school, i'll take a year to go where ever my heart desires. Any takers?

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

Chris McCandles