Be a Man

I've been having some strange feelings lately. Living in the city, my lifestyle is almost predetermined for me. There are only certain things I am able to do here and most activities I enjoyed in my previous life are just a fond memory. For example, last night Collin asked me to help him wash his car. No big deal, I thought, but after we started I remembered how great of a feeling it was to stand out on the driveway, barefoot and wash my car on a hot Saturday evening, just as the sun was going down. I miss that now. Other things I miss are driving fast down the highway with the wind in my face, water skiing, looking at the stars, mowing the lawn. These are things that men need to do, in order to be a man. (Ladies, I hope you can understand what I'm saying.)

I really just need to leave the city and do something adventurous. I want to go climb a mountain or ride a horse. I'd like to go float down a river or race down a beach. Not that I ever do these things, but they're adventurous and exciting and that's what I need right now. I need adrenaline, which doesn't flow easily from my desk at work.

What I'd like to do is pack everything I need to survive into a backpack and leave the country for a few months. I could hitchhike through South America or go to Africa and climb Kilimanjaro (the newest addition to my 'Things to do in Life' list).

While I may not packing my bags anytime soon, at least not until October when I head to Spain, I still have some heroes to live through vicariously; some men of men who lived by their instinct and didn't put up with any crap. They were American Badasses and that's what I want to be.

One of these badasses is Ernest Hemingway. He knew what he loved and he practiced it religiously. He wanted to fight so he signed up for the army, but his vision was terrible and was assigned to the ambulance corps. Regardless, he lived in war, and loved it. Afterwards, he discovered bullfighting and wrote about it. Now, I'm beginning to love it and will get to experience it in Spain this fall. He also loved African Safaris and fishing in Cuba and Key West. All of these are masculine activities that are screaming out inside of me.

Another MAN that I admire is Theodore Roosevelt. What a badass. I won't go into depth about his awesome no-holds-barred lifestyle, but you should definitely read about it or watch the documentary. He set the rules and got the job done. He had never served in the military, but requested to be nominated for Assistant Secretary of the Navy. T.R. didn't like how things were being run, so when his boss was out sick for a month he took control. He mobilized ships from China to the Philippines to Cuba and started a war with Spain. Then, he decided he didn't want to sit in his office (me either) and watch the war, so he went to Texas and recruited a bunch of guys, trained them, took them to Cuba, and went and whooped up on the Spanish. The details are even more incredible. I suggest you read about him.

These are just a couple dudes who knew how life was supposed to be lived. They didn't sit in a cubicle all day and wish things were better. The traveled, lived in adventure and experienced life to the fullest. They had goals and dreams and made them come true. This is what I want. I want to enjoy my life and be a risk taker, to have stories to tell and scars to prove it.

I think it’s a crime to settle for less than what you want the most. Anyone who has a desire, but suppresses it to be comfortable shames themselves. I wanted to live in New York more than anything so I did it, and it was tough but so worth it. Now I have other desires and dreams and believe me that I will do them and they too will be hard, but they will make life worth living.