When I was in…I’m going to say middle school simply because anything earlier in my life is so fuzzy I can’t tell if its a memory or made up, I decided that I wanted to be an action movie hero. High, stupid, far-fetched aspiration though it may be, that was my dream. That was also around the same time the desire to be either a soldier or a fighter pilot really sunk it’s teeth into my mind. I’ve done the soldier thing and it was honestly the best way I could have spent the first five years of my twenties. I know a lot about firearms, I’ve driven armored vehicles, ridden on helicopters, I learned how to ride a motorcycle, and I’ve done a couple other typical “action-hero-esque” things. There are a couple of things that I haven’t done yet, and so my bucket list is legitimately forming.
I want to earn my SCUBA certification. I’d love to get to see things in person that I’ve grown up seeing in movies, PBS shows, and National Geographic. The world beyond the glimmering surface of the large bodies of water on our planet fascinates me. There are lots of destination dive spots all over the world that, according to reports I’ve read, may not be around forever.
While I’ve done a tandem jump, I want to earn my solo jump skydiving certification. I was lucky enough to get to jump from the highest legal jump in the state of Colorado a couple of years ago as a birthday present. I’m an adrenaline junkie, I admit it, but the feeling of free fall and then the eerily quiet two minutes coasting on a canopy of silk before coming back in contact with the ground is incredibly serene.
I want to get my private pilot’s license. The ability to go up and see the world through the cockpit windscreen of a small plane at potentially high speeds is my ultimate dream. Flight is one of the things that either fascinates or frightens people. My oldest friend is not a fan of planes. I’m not sure if that’s because they don’t allow smoking on airplanes anymore, or if it’s because he is legitimately afraid of being in an aluminum tube being held aloft solely by the laws of physics, but he hates it. I am the flip side of that coin. I love being up in the air. Until I jumped out of a plane it was my favorite way to see the world. Everything just looks so small and calm from the inside of a plane. Looking down on mountains and cities and wide open fields from that high up just feels so blissfully surreal.
While I’m sure there are plenty of other things that will end up on the list, those are currently my three key points. I’ve only known one person in my life who genuinely is not a fan of anything adventurous, so I feel safe saying we all want a little excitement in our lives. the ability to breath under water, fall with relative safety from extreme heights, and fly wherever I can with the equipment available to me are my three ultimate adventures. Those are now my goals.
Grey Matter Guano 