I’m sure we’ve all been there at one point or another, asking ourselves one of life’s greatest questions: what is it I am truly passionate about?

There are many people who go through life, never discovering what they are passionate about. And even if you were to figure out what it is that gives you purpose, that one activity that you can’t stand not doing, the one thing you must do, would you do anything with it?

Finding Mine

I’ve heard that life begins in your forties. That could be a dated concept. And let’s not forget, apparently, that 50 is the new 40. I’m not quite there yet, but let’s test the first theory.

Over the course of my life, I’ve dreamt of many careers: professional athlete, professional singer (singing along to music is a lot different than carrying a tune without lyrics), semi-truck driver. I’m sure there are numerous others that I’ve since forgotten, but the one that stayed with me the longest was writing.

escape into the pages

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed reading. With time came evolution, from children’s books to junior high level.

As a middle school student, reading was all about the Goosebumps series. I had to read them all. Jumping late into the long-running series by R.L Stine (I started somewhere around book 35ish), and after devouring several titles, I was determined to read them all, and so I started from the beginning.

Sadly, I can’t remember how far – or if I ever finished – my quest.

a nudge in the right direction

By the time I reached high school, I had put away Goosebumps and picked up the Fear Street series, another by middle grade and Young Adult literary guru, R.L Stine.

In my sophomore year of high school, I still enjoyed reading. Reading, jigsaw puzzles (both 2-d and 3-d), and hanging out with friends. What more could you want out of life?

While in English 10, my teacher noticed that I always came to class with a book. Something must have suggested to her that I needed to level up what I read. Grabbing a novel off the metal bookshelf next to her desk, Mrs. Whatever Her Last Name Was, offered me the book and encouraged me to read it instead. On the cover, there was a group of haggard looking individuals in a snapshot, with an ominous mountain range taking up most of the cover space.

The book: Alive.

Expansive Library

After reading the true account of the Uruguayan rugby team and flight 571, I continued consuming novels, most notably (at least for me), The Relic, by coauthors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They remained my favorite authors, until I returned to college (at 27) and met an up-and-coming artist, Stephen King. The first novel of his that I read was The Stand, at an unabridged length of 1,600 pages.

Go big or go home, right?

Back to School

My apologies. We have to backtrack momentarily to 2009 and discuss how I decided to return to school at the age of 27.

A year prior, I worked at a grocery sto…

What does any of this have to do with hiking trails in Wisconsin?

Great question. Maybe next time, we can find out together. But remember, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the…

Thank you so much for taking your time, and until we meet again.