In two months, I will be quitting a job that I have had for over 8 years. It will be bittersweet, but I believe it is time for me to move on. The thing is, I am not quitting my job to start a new job or career somewhere else, but I am quitting my job because I have decided that I want to travel the world. I know it is not a normal thing to do and most people would not even consider the possibility, but it has been something I have wanted to do for several years now.

I have saved my money and done a lot of planning and now I will be setting off on a worldwide adventure. I have planned to be on the road for about year, but I really don't know exactly how long I will be gone. It will depend on finances, of course, but it could also depend on how bored or homesick I might get. Now, you are probably asking yourself, "Well, how could you get bored going to all the great destinations around the world"? However, what you may not realize is that this is not a vacation. Everything I own I will have to carry with me in my backpack and I will have to do everything on the road. I will have to find places to do laundry, buy groceries and find places to make food, constantly find new places to sleep and figure out transportation, all while dealing with culture shock and foreign languages. If I get sick or injured, I can't just go home to rest up, I will have to find a place to hunker down or find a hospital and hope that I can communicate effectively with a doctor, which might not speak English. Simple things, like just getting a haircut, could become an adventure in itself. No, this is not a vacation, but a complete lifestyle change.

I know, I know, I am making it sound so enticing! However, that's the thing; it is an adventure. Like the explorers and travelers of old, such as Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta, I am willing to risk possible hardships to explore the world and learn about the many different cultures. And it is a journey that I am very much looking forward to.

The title of this "blog" is Journey into the Unknown and there are a few reasons for this title. I know it is not the most creative title, and that is probably why I have never really been accused of being overly creative, but it does have multiple meanings to me. The Journey is, of course, the exploration of the destinations that I will be traveling too, but this is also a journey of exploration of me. This trip will put me in many different situations that I am not used to; it will bring me completely out of my comfort zone. I will have no one else to rely on. How I react and adapt to each different situation will ultimately help me learn a lot more about myself and will help me to become, I hope, a better and more rounded person overall.

The Unknown part is referring to traveling to parts of the world that are essentially unknown to me, parts of the world that are only known through pictures and accounts from other people. There is another aspect to this though. I had a conversation with a close friend a few months ago and we talked about this very subject. I don't know if she remembers the conversation, but it stuck with me. It ultimately broke down to, we as people only know our past and our present. We ultimately do not know anything about our future. We might be able to plan for it and have a general idea what may happen, but ultimately we do not know what will happen in five years or next year or even in the next hour. In essence, our future is unknown to us, and now with quitting my job and embarking on this journey, I have no idea what my future will hold for me. Will I travel for a year and then come home and get a new job or will I just continue traveling for a lot longer? Will I get a job in the same career or will I start a whole new career? Will I return to the same city or go somewhere else? These are questions that will be answered in the future and this Journey of mine will help me to find the right answers to these questions.

I am writing this blog, in order to have an account of my journey and so that my friends and family can know what I am doing and that I am safe. Now, I am not a writer, that talent lies with my sister, but I hope to convey my journey that best I can. I am sure that some people will just live vicariously through me, but I would also hope that through this I can motivate others to do more traveling and to find their own journey.