There's no one-size-fits-all for luggage because it all depends on the trip. Just like there are differences in travel experiences, there should be differences in your gear.

I sit here on my bed….listening to a bit of CCR, surrounded by suitcases, backpacks, Ziploc bags and a slew of items which I think I may need for  the next two years of my life. How does one begin to pack for two years? I have been on multiple vacations-varying in length and packing has never been a challenge. Just throw everything in a bag that you know you will need, a few extras and I was set. But how does one begin to pack for a place they have never been to before?  How does one pack for a culture they have never experienced before? One doesn’t want to forget something essential nor does one want to pack in excess. It is a losing battle in my mind.

I’m just 2 days shy on the 3 month mark. Three months and I will be boarding a plane for Zambia. It hard to believe it is coming so quickly. What feels like just yesterday was five months is already down to three.

80 lbs is my limit. I have just about everything that was on the suggested list packed into one backpack and it weighs no more than 40lbs. I probably have about 10 more pounds of items that I have yet to put in a bag but after that it is going to leave me with about 30lbs to fill with what some might call “luxury” items. Those things that you take that will help give you some comfort on your ‘tough days’ or tough months. Whichever it may be? But I find it hard to think of what items I could bring that would really provide me comfort.  Pictures…maybe. But I already have plans to pack some of those. Paper…this could be good to, to have a place to release that frustration, homesickness or sadness. But that is already packed as well. Good Conversation with people…if only there was a way to pack FAC at the Hudson house in my suitcase…I would be set. Even with starting to pack, I know that bag stuffed full of stuff will be unpacked and repacked at least a dozen times over the next few months. With my OCD of worring I forgot something or there might be something I packed that I don’t really need. Oh the stress. I could follow the ways of some that I know and just through everything in a bag….wrinkled and all 30 minutes before my plane leaves on June 30^th. This tactic may work for some and on any other trip I would possibly consider it but this one…this one I think I might need to prepare and plan for just a little bit.

But even as I am overwhelmed by the thought of packing, there is a bit of satisfaction of the thought of being to carry everything that I need for the next two years on my back. Not being tied down with possession of any kind but truly feeling free to be able to explore without strings attached. Without anything holding me back. It is truly a wonderful feeling.  

Let the packing continue……

Adventure Must Start With Running Away From Home

Home is defined as the place in which one’s domestic affections are centered. A worthy and factual definition. But over the course of the last year, the word 'home' has come to mean so much more. It has been a whirlwind of a year. One with Adventures and new challenges which I had never faced before. Challenges that pushed me to my breaking point. Those challenges that caused me to be weaker and more vulnerable than I had ever been while at the same time forcing me to be stronger than I have ever been.

You could have asked me a year ago if I would ever return to my home town and I would have told you straight up there was no chance in hell I would ever live there again. I would have told you I was destined for more. That the adventures I had left to take did not included moving home or more so moving back to the place I grew up. Yes part of it would always have a feeling of home. It was were my parents lived and where the rest of my family resided. But I had grown to call each place I had lived over the past 6 years home and I never wished to call Delta County home again.

'Never Say Never'. You hear that phrase all of the time. I said I would never return home. But that is the exact place I have resided for the past 10 months. It was unfortunate circumstances which lead me back to this place but I am thankful every day that it did. It took coming home to make me realize what I truly needed. I didn't need to return to place I grew-up or to the mountains I so dearly loved. I didn't need to reture to the house that I lived in or to that same familiar drive. What I needed were the people and the relationships that come with family. That sense of belonging and that sense of safety and security that comes with family. Knowing that family doesn't necessarily have to blood either, but can be those remarkable people you have been so blessed to have as part of you life. Knowing you can always count on them to be your ultimate support team when you need it the most even when they might not necessarily agree with he decision you have made, they still understand and support you through it all.

Through all of my little and big adventures I had over the past 6 years that was one thing I was missing most. But it is strange. The feeling I have now. I have everything I could ever want when It comes to that. But there is still something missing. I am in search of something more. Maybe that's why I have chosen to start an Adventure with Peace Corps. Its not why I choose to join, but may be a part of why I am going.

There is such excitement that is within me as I think of the two years that lie ahead. But just as there is such excitement there is also the fear of uncertainly and of the unknown. The thought of going to a brand new place and starting new is a feeling I have had many times but it never seems to get easier. Maybe its human nature to fear the unfamiliar. To dread leaving the place where the familiar made one feel a sense of safety and security.

There are all the 'What Ifs" That fill your mind. What if i don't belong there? What if this was not the right choice? What if I am not cut out of this adventure? What if I need the support of the family and they are 6000 miles away? What if something happens to someone I love dearly while I am away? Will I ever be able to forgive myself of not being there? What If..... But then I think, What if I belong there? What if I find an incredible family that give me the same support as the one here? What If I make a difference in someones life? What if I teach someone something new? What if I fall in love with Zambia? and What if I learn to call Zambia home?
I think the 'What if's" of the world is how I/we deal with that fear. The way we try to talk ourselves out of something. The way we put our mind at ease. There is a chance that all these things could happen. But that is part of the Adventure. That unknown and unfamiliar that we fear so much is what makes life exciting. It is what Inspires me to travel it. Who knows where it may lead. What people I may meet or impact I may have one someone life.

There is still something missing. I am in search of something more.Will I find it in Zambia? Its hard to say but I know through it all I will have the support of my family, plus....Adventure must start with running away from home...but that doesn't mean I cant come back to the place where everything is better and everything is safe.