I Guess I’m A Nomad Now
A few days ago I hopped on a red eye from Honolulu to New York City.
In the past when I’ve left home, there was a final destination in mind. A place to settle down.
But not this time.
Not only have I left the place I called home, I’ve left the whole idea of home behind.
It’s a very strange feeling.
I no longer have a house, space, room, or closet to my name. All I have is this little backpack with everything I own in it.
My plan is to go from house to house, city to city, country to country crashing on couches, staying in spare bedrooms, and relying on people I trust to take me in.
I guess I’m a nomad now.
Currently I’m sitting on a friends couch on 99th in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I’m trying to digest one of the craziest cities on the planet, while simultaneously coming to terms with the fact that I live on the road.
It’s just a tad overwhelming.
I’ve hardly slept since I arrived. Every day has been something amazing, new, and completely mind boggling.
Trying to reckon with the 9/11 memorial was heart wrenching. The pools are the most beautiful and haunting man-made thing I have ever seen.
Knowing that this is where the towers stood, and that thousands lost their lives right here was almost more than I could handle.
But then…
I went to a taping of The Daily Show.
Talk about contrast.
Seeing Trevor Noah and Ben Stiller banter a few feet away was surreal on a whole different level. I never quite imagined that I would be inside a television set, but it’s amazing what you can accept when you say, “Screw it. I live in a bag now.”
The amount of new experiences I am having is almost too much to take in. But that’s what I signed up for right?
I guess that’s really my goal in all of this. To push my limits and live in the moment.
What better place to start than New York?
I am going to have to adjust to the fact that there is no end to this in sight. There is no real point where I will go home and recuperate.
At least not for a while.
I get to learn to take care of myself, and do the things that make me happy. Not just what’s exciting and in front of my face all the time.
I guess (as with everything else) this experience is really about finding that balancing point. Playing tourist at the Met, but not pushing myself too hard. Exploring the city, but also taking the time to rest, think, and write.
I enjoy the challenge.
While I am only a few days into this new lifestyle, I already get the sense that it’s going to work out better than I could have hoped.
