Adventure of a Lifetime

Kristan Key Start Date: May 2, 2016 - End Date: May 1, 2017
  • Professional Development
  • Vacation/Personal Trip
  • Volunteer Trip
  • Mexico
  • Brazil
  • South Africa
  • Egypt
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • France
  • Germany
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Thailand
  • Japan
  • China
  • Australia
  • Antarctica

My Travel Story

by: Kristan Key Start Date: May 2, 2016 - End Date: May 1, 2017
  • Professional Development
  • Vacation/Personal Trip
  • Volunteer Trip
Have you ever dreamt of going on an adventure? Not just any old, run-of-the-mill adventure where you take a weekend and do something new but quickly go back to your lives as if nothing had changed? That's definitely not the type of adventure I'm looking for.  I have spent my entire life adapting to situations I've had no control of.  It's time for that to change.  It's time for me to be in control of my future, and my path.  This trip has been in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember.  I was dreaming up ways that I could travel while still in middle school.  I wanted to go to Africa and work with those less fortunate; I wanted to be immersed in cultures I had only ever read about in books.  But after years of being told my dreams were infallible, those same dreams were being chipped away, piece by piece.  I was told I needed to be more realistic in my pursuits.  Find a career that will pay the bills.  Having passion for your work is a fallacy - that only happens to other people - not to you.  So, despite my best attempts, I listened to what the people around me were saying.  I "shelved" my dreams, so to speak, and I've been miserable ever since.  I want to travel.  I want to travel everywhere and anywhere I can go.  I want to see things with open eyes and an open heart and find my calling.  It wasn't until the last year of my life that I really, truly KNEW that this was something I had to do.  At the beginning of January 2015, I moved to Washington state to help take care of my Great Grandmother.  She had fallen and hurt her leg, and things soon began to spiral downhill.  I was able to spend three months with her before she died.  Three.  And those were the most eye-opening three months that I have ever lived.  She was 96 years old.  She had lived and loved, and spent those years exactly how she wanted.  She was an inspiration.  Then I realized... She never backed down when somebody told her she couldn't do something, or that she was incapable.  She never allowed somebody else's words strike fear into her heart, because she was completely confident in herself.  Someone once told me that if there is something in your mind that keeps coming back to you, even as you age: something that calls to you and is always there - it may be a sign from God that this is what you are supposed to do.  And if I don't do this, I feel like I will never fulfill my calling.  I don't want to wake up 70 years down the road, and look at my life... wondering why I never followed my dreams.

This is where you come in.  I work a full time job, and even saving every penny will not get me to where I need to be to make this trip happen.  I lead a pretty humble lifestyle as is, but I HAVE to do this.  I plan on selling most of my belongings (including my car) when the time comes.  I don't have much to offer you, other than my sincerest gratitude and promise of keeping you apprised with photos and my travel stories.  I'm also an amateur photographer/writer/poet, so one thing I could offer (upon my return) is a personalized photo of my journey with a poem on the back (written by me, of course).  I will be backpacking (safely, and with company), into South America, crossing to Africa, up into Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, and back to the United States.  The trip duration is being planned at a year and a half.  I know it probably seems laughable to some.  I'm even nervous about it.  But with some heavy planning and concrete optimism - this thing will work.  

I am hopeful that this journey will allow me to finally discover my path, and give me an opportunity to honor the woman my Great-Grandmother was.  With your donation, I'm one step closer.  Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to going on this journey with you.  
  • Mexico
  • Brazil
  • South Africa
  • Egypt
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • France
  • Germany
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Thailand
  • Japan
  • China
  • Australia
  • Antarctica

Updates

1

  • Still Working!

    Hey, guys! So I'm still in the planning process, and I'm hoping that y'all will help me out! This trip would be my dream come true!