When I was a teenager, like many I thought of adventure. And I was lucky enough to have had a car and tolerant parents. I traveled about the state of Texas during my summers, often with a band of friends I met at a summer camp. We crashed at one anothers house, camped in our cars, slept on the beach in Galveston. It was great fun, and made us feel free.
I seem to have passed this along to my daughters, and my youngest especially. As a young teenager, she would listen to a particular song, one that I still have on my playlist. It speaks of getting away, taking the car and just driving. This was clearly on her mind.
I think that many young people dream of this, but so often they get caught up in 'the real world', and settle down to job and obligations.
There is a line in the song that says 'put your money where your mouth is', and I am reminded of it today as I got a text from my little wanderer, a photo of her today at white sands, and another of her and her friend from Berlin. She is traveling to a concert somewhere in the western US desert, with this girl and 2 other friends. All four of the young adults met on other trips and became friends, The girls from Berlin was on a walkabout across the US that time.
Last year my daughter spend an entire month in Spain with a girl she met on-line through a photo site. Today she is on her third trip in so many months, all to the west coast. Flying to L.A. to help a friend drive to a new home in Seattle, or just to explore, again Seattle.
I was proud of myself so many years ago for the experiences I gave myself on the road, but it pails in comparison to what my daughter is doing. She is most definitely proving that she is about far more than just dreaming.
You go girl, I'm so proud of you.