At the ripe old age of 22 I was having a major "quarter-life crisis". I had just quit my first "real" job out of college which had left me jaded about finding a career, finding self-sufficiency, etc. etc. I was planning a big move back home (which isn't bad, I love my hometown, love my family, love my house) when one night I decided I should travel somewhere.
Two weeks or so later I was in Santiago, Chile visiting one of my amazing friends who was living and working there. Looking for an adventure, we went North of Santiago to camp at this tiny fishing village (population 14). To say that it was beautiful would not even come close. We pitched our tent with the mountains behind us, the ocean in front of us, and a the little restaurant far to our left.
After a week of hiking the gorgeous desert mountains while bemoaning my choice to be unemployed, watching fishing boats while wondering if she was putting of "real life" by living in Chile, and drawing in the sand for hours while generally freaking out about life we realized that this was all pretty freakin neat. If we had been going down "typical" paths- picking a career out of college and sticking with it, living in one place, settling down, etc than we would never have been able to experience any of this.
The "ah-ha" moment? We were sitting on a huge rock looking out over the ocean and discussing how we wanted to get some fish for dinner. At the restaurant this old fisherman would take a fish off the boat, take into his kitchen and cook it up and serve it-- it does not get fresher than that. We adopted the battle cry "Eat Fish and Don't Be Boring", to us that summed it all up. Be with people you love, go places and do things that inspire you and never ever be bored with your life.
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