Now is the time to seize the moment

This week I felt like Bilbo Baggins as I went on an “unexpected journey.”

Thirty-six hours before my best friend embarked on a trip to explore the beauty of fall on the east coast, he told me to drop all my obligations and come with him. 

About one hour after that call, I emailed my professors, got the day off from work and decided it was worth it. I decided to go on a six-day trip to explore the rich history of Massuchuests and see the fall foliage in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. 

During this trip I realized it is important to take risks. It was sort of crazy for me to leave school and work to go across the country with another family to see new sights. Although it was nerve racking to leave my duties, it was 100% worth it and I would have never forgiven myself if I’d opted out. 

“Money always comes back but experiences don’t,” is a quote my girlfriend Heidi always preaches to me but is something I find hard to practice. It is a scary thought to spend a ton of money while away from home in a time period of being a broke college kid. 

On top of this, I am a planner and it can be hard for me to step outside of my comfort zone. I like to know the who, what, where, when and how when traveling and that is not always the hand you are dealt when traveling with another family.

With both of those things in the back of my mind I still went. It’s cheesy but I followed my heart instead of following the logistics of what my brain was telling me.

To drop everything and go on a journey throughout New England is not something I would have ever guessed would happen this year and is something completely out of my wheelhouse but I took a chance and am forever grateful. 

Nature is beautiful and it brings me a feeling most things in this world don’t. It has always been a place of peace and reflection for me. The thing I enjoyed so much about being with them is I know they felt the same way.

This trip has brought me even closer to my best friend Tyler and it allowed me to get to know his dad and sister more. Driving in the mountains of orange and yellow leaves not only brought a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs,’ but it brought us closer. We had constant laughs and deep conversations. 

We got lost, we faced adversity and embarrassed ourselves more than once but in the end it was always chill. 

(Courtesy of Luke Jackson)

Write to Luke Jackson at luke.jackson.2@mnsu.edu