Settling down – or simply, settling.

I know what you’re thinking - ‘a travel blog … what an original idea’. TRUST ME, I GET IT.  But don’t worry, I won’t get all Eat, Pray, Love on you. 

This past fall, I really started thinking about the future a lot.  Kind of in the – what the eff am I doing with it - type of way.  I had been at my job for about a year and a half.  A job I liked .  But did I love it? No.  It really got me thinking.  Why stay at a job that I don’t love but just simply don’t mind? Well, I guess to pay the bills.  And maybe because I didn’t really have anything else on the horizon.  Eventually I started to become uncomfortable knowing I was in a place in my life where I wasn’t completely happy but was opting to do nothing about it.   After all, isn’t the point of this whole thing (life, or whatever) to ultimately be happy?

This is not to say I was UNhappy.  I have the most amazing friends here and I love Halifax. Halifax to me is what Manhattan is to Carrie Bradshaw.  CLICHÉ.  SEX AND THE CITY REFERENCE. K guys, if I could be ANY of the SATC girls, who would I be? I’m definitely not slutty enough to be Samantha but I’m also not smart enough to be Miranda.  Kidding.  But seriously.  Halifax holds a special place in my heart.  The thing is, carrying out a job I didn’t see a future in and going to Durty Nelly’s two to three times a week can only fulfill a person for so long. Ya know? Like … can I really dance to the Mull River Shuffle every weekend for the rest of my life? (the answer is probably yes)

In December, I told my boss I would no longer be working come March.  It was tough, I felt like I was letting the company down.  I knew I was making the right decision, though.  I really wanted to travel.  Indefinitely.  No real schedule or anything (financially or otherwise) constraining me.  Traveling is something that I love and really value.   A quote I like that kind of describes me quite perfectly at this point in my life is:

I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it.

I think it’s a very sad reality that in the world today, money is the source of so much worry, stress, unhappiness and limitation in the lives of the average person.  But what can we do about it? We need money to be able to survive; to do the things we want to do (to a certain extent).  Luckily for me, I had an extremely generous great-aunt who thought that education was very important.  Never having children of her own, she decided she would pay for the post-secondary education of my sister and I.  I was able to go through university without having to take out a bunch of student loans, which I feel beyond appreciative about. The great-aunt who so generously paid for my education sadly passed away in 2011 and included me in her will.  Now, I am by NO MEANS reaching Donald Trump status.  Or even really in the financial position of a wealthy lawyer.  But I feel very lucky to have some freedom to be able to do some things I really want to do.  NOT TO RUB MY DEBT-FREE LIFE INTO ANYBODY’S DEBT-RIDDEN ONE.  I just wanted to simply point out that while I can say that it’s important to pursue what we need to in order to be happy, there are times when it’s easier for some people to do.  I wish it wasn’t the case. But I also believe that money shouldn't be the ultimate reason to do or not do something.  And traveling can be done very cheaply so don't let it (the cheddar) stop you, KAY?

After I realized that I would have some financial freedom, I knew that there was nothing really holding me back from taking off and traveling for a year … maybe more, maybe less.  Except for this fear that I should be ‘settling down’.  I am 27 after all, right?  Shouldn’t I be in a serious relationship, thinking about marriage, children, and staying in one particular career?  We all know that this isn’t necessarily the way it goes these days … but I think most of us would be lying if we said we didn’t feel a bit of pressure to have it all figured out by now.  But for me, settling down would really just mean settling.  AND I DON’T WANNA SETTLE. 

So, here I am.  In three weeks I will have no job, no apartment, limited bills, no furniture, no effing idea what I’m really doing.  But I think I’m really going to be happy. I thought this little part of the interweb could be a place where I update y’all on my travels and what not.  I will be doing a video blog (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND) until inevitably my camcorder and/or computer break and/or get stolen.  If being mugged in Vietnam taught me anything, it's that you gotta hold on tight to your personal belongings.  It just gets more difficult after a few drinks.  I should also add a disclaimer - I can't fully guarantee the consistency of my updates.  BUT I will try. 

I think most of my blog posts will also be funnier and less preachy than this one … unless, of course, I find myself.   

So stay tuned.  Or don’t.  I mean … it’s your choice.  NOW JUST TO THINK OF A CLEVER VIDEO BLOG SERIES NAME.  Lord of the Kandace? No. (would this be a play on Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Flies, or Lord of the Dance? All of the above? Why are there so many things with lords??) Maybe just Travels with Kandace? Too after-school special.  

I DON’T KNOW YET YOU GUYS.  TBD.