The Adventurous Life (Part Two)

So, in my last post, I discussed why we’re called to the Adventurous Life and how we’re called to live our life to the fullest. But seriously, how? My older siblings are really into the outdoors. My mom and sister hiked part of the Appalachian Trail. One of my brothers jumped into his beat-up car (without a bumper) and drove across the country and saw the US. One time we were in Alaska on a trail and I rounded the bend to see a group of tourist looking up at something on the waterfall, and I looked up to figure out what it was. It was my brother… scaling an icy waterfall with his camera… trying to take a cool picture -.-

I've always admired these people, questioned their sanity, and then felt kind of discouraged about my own life. But recently I've found my own ways of living adventurously.

Step one: Get out of your house! Even if you’re just gonna be in your neighborhood that’s enough

The main reason we don’t go on adventures is fear. For me, it’s mainly the fear of not knowing what the heck I’m doing and fear of what others think. I am a person who will absolutely not do something because I’ll be embarrassed because it’s completely new and I’ll look like a total idiot. But it’s when we do something in spite of this fear that the true adventure begins. Yea, you may look weird, best thing is to just smile, accept that fact that you may fail, and laugh it off and learn from it if you do.

Enough about me though, back to adventures.

Here are some adventures you can take:

1. Have a bike? Go on a bike ride. (Preferably down a new road) One thing I’ve done last semester is to bike to somewhere where you can watch the sunset. Walks/ Hikes 2. Go to a new restaurant Try a new authentic ethnic food you’ve never had. Their ordering may be different and new, but, hey, there’s the adventure. You may even hate the food, but you tried it. This is a great thing to do with friends! 3. Take a friend to a trail and hike I love hiking and it’s a great way to know your friends. You can just talk about life. 4. Look up a craft or DIY project to try with a friend For those of you who don’t know me I’m sort of a Pinterest fiend and DIY queen. I love making things, sewing them, and just finding new ways to make things. So go with a friend to Hobby Lobby, buy some supplies and create! 5. Sleep under the stars Even if it’s just in your backyard STARGAZE 6. Resolve to learn something new 7. A new instrument 8. Cooking 9. Baking 10. A sport- go ahead and just try out for that team 11. Be a part of a play or musical at your school 12. Join a new club 13. Take a hard or new class 14. Start a blog:) 15. Start a book club or Bible study

Most of all, I strive to live adventurously by finding the beauty in the world that we so often rush by without noticing. God gave us this great earth to live in, let us live our lives to the fullest. There's so much around us, go explore it! Push yourself, and get ready to learn so much about yourself and Him.

There's so much more you can do. Just do something new that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Trust God and have fun. No one said it’s easy or fun all the time. During grand adventures and grand expeditions up mountains, there are days of pure monotony, boredom, and fatigue. But, the end is rewarding and you’ll learn so much. For other ideas check our Alastair Humphreys videos or his book Microadventure.

Getting over these different fears helped me live a more adventurous life this past year. I tried out for my school’s musical, and I tried out for a basketball team while knowing barely anything about the sport. I ran for student council even though I was terrified and had a chance of losing (in fact I did). It’s through any failures or setbacks where you must push to work harder that you grow and learn. This is your adventure.

Verso l'alto!

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by Catherine Siena