Quarter Century

In lieu of my 25th birthday, I have been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting on the quarter century of my life that has passed by in the blink of an eye. 25 seems significant for some reason. There are a lot of ways I can look at my life. I can’t help but to let my mind ponder all the things my life is not. I am not a mother, wife, wounded soul, rooted tree. I would say my life is not 'typical' for my culture, race, gender, or age. While I watch friends buy homes, cars, get engaged and married, sit in front of a computer at a desk job, and build futures for themselves somewhere, I am still trying to "figure it all out". I have taken a different path. I have come up with a list of places I have seen and things I have been able to do because of my difference in life choices sort of as a way for me to help sort out all of these thoughts that have been running through my head and clouding my vision due to the approach of this two digit number. So here goes...

I've overlooked the Grand Canyon in Arizona at sunset and experienced one of the natural wonders of the world.

I've stood in Times Square and marveled at the amount of people and advertisements crammed into one square block in New York City.

I've ridden a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

I've celebrated Saint Patrick's Day over a green river with a Guinness in hand in Chicago, Illinois.

I've ridden on a camel's back through the white sands along the clear turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean in Mombasa, Kenya.

I've lived in a mud hut with no electricity or running water in Kabula, Kenya, a town that cannot even be found on a map.

I've stared into the face of a lion in Masai Mara National Park in Kenya.

I've stood in the lobby of the actual Hotel Rwanda in Kigali, Rwanda and seen first hand the haunting effects of a nation torn apart by a brutal genocide.

I've survived the White Niles' class 5 rapids in Jinja, Uganda with nothing more than a helmet, life jacket, and paddle.

I've been one of only three white people to ever stay in the tiny village of Kiyumba, Uganda.

I've discovered the wonders of the old world on the streets of Stone Town on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

I've been soaked from head to toe with mist standing in front of the world's largest waterfall, Victoria Falls, in Livingstone, Zambia.

I've jumped off a 111 meter bridge over the Zambezi River while standing half way between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

I've basked in the sun and jumped off cliffs into one of the world's most breathtaking lakes in Nkata Bay, Malawi.

I've seen the home of one of the world's most influential leaders, Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I've experienced the provocative nightlife of Amsterdam's red light district in the Netherlands.

I've stood in front of some of the most extravagant and famous jewelry at the Tower of London in England.

I've danced the night away in one of the best clubs in the world in Mexico's Acapulco Bay and seen the devil.

I've seen trees that bend sideways from a constant breeze in Aruba's scruffy landscape.

I've counted down from 10 on New Year's Eve with thousands of people in one of the world's largest cities, Seoul, South Korea.

I've experienced so much in my life. I realize that my life is far from ordinary. I hope and pray every day that my life choices will continue to allow me to add to that list. I am so blessed.

“two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

The Road Not Taken

-Robert Frost-

Namaste