7 years of travel: The power of looking back

How well do you remember your past?

I would not consider myself a traveler. It is more a goal and aspiration. In comparison to some family members with less means than myself, I have been to fewer places. And I definitely learn a lot from travel hackers ( by default I guess that means I don’t know a lot ) but I guess I haven’t given myself enough credit. Sometimes looking in the past has it’s benefits…

During the application process for a job I was asked to provide my addresses for 7 year to do a background check. 7 years!
I knew I moved around a lot for school but I guess I never thought of it before. As it turns out I had a really hard time coming up with 7 yrs of history but after some digging these are the stats I have to report.

Where have I lived?

So within the past 7 years I have held an address in all the following cities for 3 months or more.

• Flint, MI.
• Costa Mesa , Ca
• San Leandro, Ca
• San Francisco, Ca
• Anaheim, Ca
• Bellflower, Ca
• Norwalk, Ca

(Can you tell I really like California) 😉

Now I know what you are thinking.. you are probably saying “Wait a minute that doesn’t look so bad. Why did you have such a hard time gathering that up.” Well in reality even though I have only live in 7 different cities in the past 7 years my housing situation was more complicated then that.

In that time I have lived in 14 different houses/ Apartments. That is a lot of addresses to try and remember. But I guess that’s the life of a wanderer( Hence the Roamer).  No but really it was due to my University’s school schedule.

 Places I have Traveled to in my last 7 years

Not only have I lived in 7 different cities in the past 7 years I have also had a chance to visit quite a few places. These are the stats of places I have spent 2 or more nights at.

• Dearborn, MI
• Madison, WI
• Port Huron, MI
• Salt Lake City, UT
• New River Gorge, WV
• Yosemite, CA
• Kentucky
• Las Vegas, NV
• Chicago, IL
• Oil City, PA
• Philadelphia, PA

Things I’ve seen

I have also had the chance to  spend a few hours and briefly pass through sites such as, Niagra Falls, from Canada side,  The Rock and Roll hall of fame in Ohio, Frank Lloyd Wrights  house Falling Waters in PA, Hearst Castle,CA; Zion National Park, UT; The Grand Canyon, AZ; The Saint Louis Arch, MO

So why do I say all this ? … How is it going to help?… Well I guess really this post is more about reflection. Sometimes life happens so fast you miss what’s happening. And I’m glad to know that even though trips haven’t been as grandiose as I’d like( India sigh Japan , China,  3 months studying abroad) .  Sure it might not have been what I wanted it to be, but it’s surely nothing to scoff at. I have found a way to feed my passion even if it means getting to know my backyard better. For example my time in San Francisco was really amazing specially with the random meeting of an Asian tourist an impromptu dinner date in china town and late night walk through the city will be a memory and story I tell for the rest of my life. To realize that those story like adventure don’t just happen to everyone but happen to me too.

So take a break retrace your step and realize those amazing accomplishments you’ve already done, you have a few… But if you really feel you don’t, take control it’s your life, you only have one… Realize there are challenging,attainable goals to be reached, but don’t sacrifice your future self, save and pay for them out right. There are adventures to be had in your own backyard if you are open to the possibilities.

Maybe I’m not such an inept traveler. I think it’s pretty good for 7 years of travel.

– The Roamer