The mediocre can have adventures...

My dream was to travel the world…and for years if was unattainable because of my self-doubt.  Mass marketing, even before social media, had convinced my subconscious that real travellers were courageous and daring with a hip persona that exudes confidence and attractiveness.  I was none of these things.  I was an unsecure, out of shape couch potato who just watched Anthony Bourdain and thought how amazing it would be to see something different.   

A quote from Edmund Hillary, an Everest mountaineer changed my life.  “I have discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures and even the fearful can achieve”.  And so I set out to achieving my goals. 

I wanted to travel…I have been to over 75 countries.  I wanted to run a half-marathon…I finished 4.  I dreamed of working in areas of the world where people need help the most…I work with a medical NGO.  I wanted to write…I have had short travel stories published in books. 

I never won a race, or even really finished in a brag-worthy time…but I finished.  The books I am in are not best-sellers…but they are real books.  I was terrified to try…but I proved that the fearful can achieve.

Today I am applying for a job that I really don’t stand a chance in getting.  It would be a dream job to travel and write for the NY Times.  The NY Times Travel Section!!!  This section has personally inspired me on more than a few life altering trips and to think that I could be a part of that…surreal. 

If I don’t stand much of a chance, why apply?

I want to prove Hillary was right.  I want to inspire average people to pick up a passport and see the world.  My style of writing leans more to the self-deprecating humour but I strive to ensure the spirit of the situation, location and participants are captured as well.  I don’t have every single of their desired traits but I applied because I know would excel at the job.  It won’t always be perfect, but it will be an epic journey…accurately captured with the intention of entertaining some and encouraging the “mediocre” folks out there to embrace adventure.

p.s. I was still undecided about applying...and then I received a message from an old friend who saw the job and thought of me.  It's one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me...clearly I needed to preserve it...

"You would kick ass at this, and I'm not just saying that because I think you personally are great. You have an intimate writing style without as they said revealing too much, and your pictures capture the humanity of the place. You can tell you are genuinely interested in learning about their culture and not just touring above it.  It's hard to capture those things without sounding like a pretentious white person or falsely humble bragging, or just being clueless without appreciating the process of learning that comes with travel.  You walk those lines well."