Around The World, Around The World, Around The World, Around The World

--"Around the World", Daft Punk

I had this random idea to try out for The Amazing Race this past weekend. Totally on a lark, never thinking anyone I asked would take it seriously, I started letting people know that this was a half-hearted quest of mine. Mostly people laughed and took it for the jest I originally intended it to be. However, when I asked my friend Carly, she responded in the most improbably way.

She said it would be a great idea.

What's more, the more she got excited about it, the more I started to take it seriously as something I would be interested in. It's weird how somebody's enthusiasm for a project can help decide your own mind about it too. Up until she gave her thumbs up, I thought it was just a funny idea to kick around with people, more shocking than serious. But hearing her ask where to get the application, what our shortcomings might be, and how exactly the process would fit into her schedule, the more I started to question my own motivation for wanting to participate and my own reasons for not initially taking it seriously.

The main reason I didn't want to do it was because they do a lot of height challenges and I'm deathly afraid of open spaces. The thought of falling is one of my biggest fears. Seeing people rappel down thirty story buildings or bungee jump off of bridges is something that I thought I could go my whole life without ever experimenting with. The other reason I didn't want to do it was because I was never jazzed about seeing foreign countries. I didn't think experiencing another nation's culture and artistry was a pressing need for me. I thought there were enough spectacular views in the U.S. that I would never need leave this country to be amazed.

But what is life if not overcoming fears and doing things that push you out of your comfort zone? I'm starting to think that, if anything, if we do somewhat miraculously make it on the show, that I could learn a lot from going through with it. It could have a positive effect on my life in ways I never considered needed improvement.

Yes, it'll be fun to take an excursion with Miss Carly and I wouldn't consider braving such an endeavor with anybody else since, of any of my friends, seems well-suited to travel and adventure. This could go a long way to insuring we remain lifelong friends like Breanne and I are lifelong friends. The main reason I want to do this is because it could go a long way to insuring I become the person I always though I could be, experiencing new things, seeing the world in new ways, and just seeing as much as life has to offer.

That's worth possibly plunging to my doom off a thousand foot cliff, right?

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers