Growing up, I really blame my parents for giving me this incurable wanderlust itch. Not only did they have a regular subscription to National Geographic, which transported me to locations that I barely knew even existed, but they also introduced me to a love of travel. Being documentary filmmakers, they were regularly working all over the world, and would often bring my brother and I along for the ride. I have many amazing memories of camping throughout Canada, road-tripping parts of Europe, and exploring the Puerto Rican rainforests. As euphoric as all of these experiences were, I knew I needed more.
After school I achieved one of my long standing dreams since childhood: working at LucasArts, the videogame division of LucasFilm. I finally had an opportunity to not only contribute in the crafting of the same interactive experiences that I had enjoyed over the years, but also at a company that created so many of my favorite stories.
Equally important, it allowed me to occasionally travel internationally, sometimes even longer term. This helped to scratch my wander-itch, but I still knew I needed more.
After 10 wonderful years of working with some of my favorite people still to this day, that dream came to a close. As happens all to often in the gaming industry, a corporate buyout and layoffs left us all as new job seekers. I bounced back at another great company with another great group, but I still found myself drifting back towards my list of amazing destinations that I hoped to one day see. Not seeing all, or at least most of them, just wasn’t an option.
Looking to keep scratching the itch, I took a trip to Africa and it completely blew my mind. I experienced some of the greatest culture shock of my life, and I absolutely loved it. I grabbed hold of this feeling not wanting to let go, even though I knew the trip was destined to end after only 2 weeks. It just wasn’t enough and even still I needed more. Lots more.
By the time I got home, my wander-itch was completely out of control, and I knew that there was only one way to cure it. I needed to get back out into the world and explore longer term.
With that, I immediately kicked-up a whirlwind of planning, saving, and excitement. Before I knew it, I had quit my job and was off to Portugal to see where the road will lead. I’m still not quite sure yet how long or how far this path will take me, so I just keep moving forward, making sure to enjoy each and every second of the ride.
So far this adventure has taken me up to the summit of an active volcano, all the way down to the dunes of the Sahara Desert. I’ve hung out with wild orangutans and even celebrated Burmese Independence Day in Yangon. And all of this just scratches the surface.
GlobeSlice is not just a way for me to share my journey and experiences with all of you, but to also act as constant reminder of just how wild and wonderful this big world of ours is.
So pull up a seat and stick around for a bit. You never know what amazing places we may find next!