I never thought about documenting my travels and everyday life until I found a love for creative writing in school. I'm actually doing the whole school thing as we speak. I'm junior English major at the College of the Holy Cross, a small liberal arts school in Massachusetts.
My travel bug infected me when I was young. Growing up around the Elizabethan Islands in the south coast of Mass, I was constantly embarking on summer adventures and sailing to one of the many ports and coves the beautiful New England waters have to offer.
Spending time on the ocean gives you a sense of freedom, and for me it translated into a desire to travel. Even in the winter, my family would pack up and head down to the British Virgin Islands to live on a sailboat for a couple weeks. We'd venture to countless Caribbean islands and spend our days exploring.
I have an older brother, two younger brothers, and a younger sister (pray for her). As one might guess, we got involved in athletics and they quickly provided provided obstacles for travel. Not when we were younger, but when we got to high school with more intense schedules. I think the last full family trip was my sophomore. No more packing our bags and leaving on a dime. It just doesn't work.
I played a good eight years of football and I loved every minute of it. Football is a 12-month-long sport. There's not really an off-season, and despite my love for the game, my love for travel was put on hold. My last trip to the Virgin Islands was Junior year.
In the winter of my sophomore year, I ended up tearing my ACL which happened to be the third time over my career. As the doc said, my days as a Division 1 football player were done.
A couple months later, I had an revelation. Football was such a big part of my life, but it was never my entire life. The sport took up a ton of time, but when that chunk of time opened up, I realized I could use it for other things... maybe adventure-related things...
One door closes and another opens type of deal. I booked a trip to Africa and Dubai that same spring.
So here I am, ready to explore. I guess you can tag along, too.
Timmy Smith, sailing off.
No comments:
Post a Comment