Nomad by Nature

"Sometimes you have to get lost in order to be found."
- Amanda, Jen & Holly, The Lost Girls

If we find ourselves at all, we often have to get out of our familiar element to do it. We have to get out of our box – our comfort zone – and test limits. Some people are mostly alright with the familiar. They find security in what they already know. And that's ok. But others – like me – seek the unfamiliar and learn more about oneself through adaptation and navigating reactions to new situations.

I’m a nomad by design. I was brought up that way as a military brat. As I became an adult, I gravitated away from military bases and small towns. I studied abroad twice and backpacked through Italy. Finally, I set my sights on the big city. By my mid-twenties, I was feeling suffocated because the elements of my life weren’t teaching me anything new. I began to fear not ever truly knowing myself. But the thing that scared me most - and still scares me occasionally - was not knowing what life I wanted while I still had a chance to go after it.

Some want to get out of Small Town U.S.A. and start new lives in London, Paris or New York City. Others – like The Lost Girls – left New York City to travel the world for a year. I came across their blog at random and was so inspired by their journey. Here are their 20 Reasons for Getting Lost. I guess it just goes to show that no matter where you are, sometimes you just want to be anywhere but here.

Essentially The Lost Girls and I did the same thing, but with opposite destinations. At 25, I wondered where my life was going in North Carolina. As twenty-something New Yorkers, they were wondering what directions they were headed in the career-centric capital of the world. I hope that I do something similar one day to The Lost Girls' 35,000-mile journey. But for now, I'm still finding my answers in New York City.