What’s the thing?

When I was eighteen and freshly graduated, I thought that the thing was a question that was important to figure out, so that I could begin my pursuit as soon as possible, accomplish it, and then progress to the next thing. I thought I had it figured out— that I was already ahead of the game.

But as it turned out, the thing was not so defined, and that the figuring it out was going to take a lot longer than I could of ever imagined.

Today, I’m twenty-five and finally accepted that I know nothing about anything at all, and in that, I am left with all the room in the world to wonder. I go around just trying to take it all in— an open mind for anything. I travel, interview people that I meet, then I write about it— often finding myself in new and uncomfortable situations. Like the time I spent weeks on a rice farm sleeping on a mat under a mosquito net in rural Thailand, or the time I found myself in strange predicaments while navigating across the country of Wales by hitchhike.

In the grain of it all, any story will lead back to the significance of a person met, and it is my hope to convey the significance of our fellow people while creating conversation through the exchange of the ideas that they teach.

In Pursuit of the Thing is a forgiving blog of writings put together by a person trying to make sense of the world, as she continues to learn and grow from it day by day.

Read a story, ask a question, stay a while.