“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Yesterday when I asked for input about how I could improve my blog, the comment which made me think the most was from a German girl I met a few years ago in South America. She told me (very kindly) that sometimes my posts could be frustrating because it seemed to her that the only way to happiness in my eyes was my way – cycling around the world – and that sometimes it irritated her because she was happy with her life even though she isn’t currently traveling. And I couldn’t agree more. Happiness, success, and dreams are all extremely personal journeys and I certainly don’t think that everyone should begin living their life as I do (though, if you are at all tempted, feel free!).

Currently happiness for me looks like a night under the stars in the mountains with my bike by my side, but someday, happiness to me is going to look like paying off my mortgage, sleeping in a bed, and taking month long road trips around Oregon. I’m a normal person too, and in all honesty, I want a lot of the same things you do. After this adventure is done Kevin and I are looking forward to having a home and community to call our own, a garden to eat from, and a job to complain about.

That being said, I did create this blog in order to inspire others to travel, to cycle tour, and to reconsider their thoughts about how they want to live because there are so many paths to choose from, and I know from experience that it’s sometimes hard to go against what you believe society expects from you. The reason I am out here today is because two years ago I happened to stumble upon a cyclists blog and was so inspired that I decided I had to try it out for myself. When I set out I promised myself that I would keep a blog as well because who knows if I would be able to give someone that boost they needed to travel like some stranger did for me. The reason I come off so strong (and don’t worry, I certainly know that I do) is because that’s who I am; an extremely passionate person. I bounce up and down when I’m excited, and when I hate something, I hate it. And right now, if you haven’t been able to tell, I love life, and since my life happens to be on a saddle, I love that saddle just as much. So yes, I want you to travel, to explore, and to expand your horizons, but I certainly know there are other paths to happiness as well. My main goal is to inspire you to follow your dreams, whatever they happen to be, and while doing so, I hope to bring a “realistic” view of the world through my own eyes straight to your armchair.

Here are a few of my favorite posts about different aspects of my alternative lifestyle. That being said, this doesn’t mean they are the only ways to happiness, but merely other ways of looking at our diverse and complicated world. Check them out if you haven’t already!

Success Inside and Outside the Classroom

War Does Not Make Peace

Date a Girl Who Travels

Why Travel is Permanent

Joys of a Smart Phone Free Girl

Alright! Back to the normal blog tomorrow with a post about a wonderful yet awful work for free room Kevin and I did here in the Georgian mountains.