FOMO Antidote: 10 Adventures
There are some really fun adventures I want to go on in the near future. The problem is, these experiences are non-urgent and nonessential, so I keep punting them from MLK Day to Spring Break to summer vacation. I obviously need to organize my desires and create a realistic timeline to execute them. There’s no better way to ensure completion than to share my dreams with you guys. As I embark on these adventures, I’ll update the page and provide info on what I ended up doing. Without further ado, here are ten adventures I’m going to go on within the next 18 months:
1: Music Festivals
̶I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶l̶l̶o̶w̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶l̶i̶s̶t̶:̶ ̶(̶T̶o̶m̶o̶r̶r̶o̶w̶l̶a̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶U̶l̶t̶r̶a̶ ̶M̶u̶s̶i̶c̶ ̶F̶e̶s̶t̶i̶v̶a̶l̶,̶ ̶S̶n̶o̶w̶g̶l̶o̶b̶e̶,̶ ̶L̶o̶l̶l̶a̶p̶a̶l̶o̶o̶z̶a̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶C̶o̶a̶c̶h̶e̶l̶l̶a̶)̶.̶
I went to all three days of Ultra Music Festival in Miami with my best friend Sid. I learned that people are mostly watching each other for social cues, and a smile can go a long way. I got to listen to Ghastly, Galantis, Marshmello (above), Illenium, Zedd, Martin Garrix, and many many more!
Quick tip: bring a camelback to these events; dancing in the sun is hot, so staying hydrated is critical to lasting the entire night.
2: Martial Arts
I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶m̶e̶e̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶r̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶b̶l̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶b̶e̶l̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶l̶l̶o̶w̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶l̶i̶s̶t̶:̶ ̶(̶Y̶u̶r̶i̶ ̶S̶i̶m̶o̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶G̶a̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶T̶o̶n̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶K̶e̶e̶n̶a̶n̶ ̶C̶o̶r̶n̶e̶l̶i̶u̶s̶,̶ ̶R̶i̶b̶e̶i̶r̶o̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶,̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶c̶e̶l̶o̶ ̶G̶a̶r̶c̶i̶a̶,̶ ̶G̶o̶r̶d̶o̶n̶ ̶R̶y̶a̶n̶,̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶c̶e̶l̶o̶ ̶G̶a̶r̶c̶i̶a̶,̶ ̶E̶d̶d̶i̶e̶ ̶B̶r̶a̶v̶o̶,̶ ̶R̶i̶c̶h̶i̶e̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶t̶i̶n̶e̶z̶,̶ ̶A̶n̶d̶r̶e̶ ̶G̶a̶l̶v̶a̶o̶,̶ ̶T̶r̶a̶v̶i̶s̶ ̶S̶t̶e̶v̶e̶n̶s̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶e̶n̶d̶e̶s̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶)̶.̶
I trained under Saulo Ribeiro at University of Jiu Jitsu and Richie Martinez at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in San Diego. My largest takeaway from my time at both gyms wasn’t their Jiu Jitsu techniques. It was the numerous ways each gym found ways to foster a community and ensure that students of all levels were being pushed to learn and improve. Great experience.
3: Camping
̶I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶n̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶k̶s̶.̶ ̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶g̶e̶n̶e̶r̶i̶c̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶p̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶e̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶i̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶.̶
The photo on the left shows Diablo Lake in Washington State’s Northern Cascades National Park. David, Aren, and I hiked the trail and went for a dive in the ice melt. I’ve never been in such cold water in my life! We also met some Australian exchange students and learned about each other’s cultures (e.g. rubbish vs trash).
The next two photos are of the Everglades National Park. My friend Sid and I went on an airboat tour to see the wildlife, including dazzling dragonflies, wood storks, and gators. The experience of seeing gators in the wild made me wonder how humans became the apex predator.
4: Travel
I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶v̶i̶s̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶’̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶f̶o̶r̶e̶.̶
I thought that Tokyo would be my first new travel experience. But after talking to a Danish friend for advice on traveling in Tokyo, I ended up visiting Copenhagen, Denmark to catch up!
Three things I implore all of you to do:
- Rent a bike and pedal around the city for a day. It’s gorgeous.
- Try a Danish pastry basically anywhere, and quietly cry from sheer joy.
- Stay in a hostel for at least a night. They have some really cool ones like Steel House or Urban House, where it’s really easy to meet new people and get local tips.
5: Business
I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶B̶e̶r̶k̶s̶h̶i̶r̶e̶ ̶H̶a̶t̶h̶a̶w̶a̶y̶’̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶n̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶s̶h̶a̶r̶e̶h̶o̶l̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶m̶e̶e̶t̶i̶n̶g̶.̶
This experience was a blast. I learned about the nitty gritty of value investing, got advice on good podcasting practices (mine debuts in a month), and better understand the future of the U.S. economy in relation to China’s rise as the dominant economic force.
6: Writing
̶I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶o̶k̶.̶ ̶P̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶f̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶J̶u̶n̶e̶.̶
This is probably the challenge that all the haters will fight with me on. I published something…but it wasn’t exactly a book. The impetus behind my need to write stemmed from a desire to help my younger sister avoid mistakes I made earlier in my life. I realized that this advice was only getting diluted with more words, so I wrote an extended essay instead.
Now, I mention people and events that aren’t for the public eye. But it’d be bogus if I didn’t make part of my writing available to those who’ve been following my journey. So here’s an excerpt with all names changed.
7: Blog
I will get 1000 followers. This isn’t a vanity metric (ok, maybe a little); all the bloggers I talk to consider 1000 to be a great amount for a vibrant online community. I want to create a group of people who share my values and will challenge each other to become better people.
8: Side Hustle
I will create a side-hustle that makes $1000 profit / month. I failed this challenge last year and it pisses me off. I don’t plan on messing up again. It’ll be a great story and teach me a lot about self-sufficiency.
9: Triathlon
This is one of these events that everybody respects but nobody’s actually crazy enough to do. Performing a triathlon will force me to improve my swimming and cycling, and let me meet some beast athletes.
10: Scuba Diving Certification
S̶c̶u̶b̶a̶ ̶d̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶c̶a̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶e̶.̶ ̶B̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶o̶l̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶i̶v̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶o̶;̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶e̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶e̶r̶i̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶C̶a̶t̶a̶l̶i̶n̶a̶ ̶I̶s̶l̶a̶n̶d̶.̶ ̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶c̶h̶i̶c̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶.̶
I completed my scuba diving certification course in Honolulu, watching sea turtles nap and eels snap! I’m surprised by how much I enjoy scuba diving now as well as how expensive it is. I’ll buy my own gear and just rent tanks in the future.
So many places to choose from next!
