Before Ever since I was a kid, there has always been something utterly appealing about the open road. Something about how you could go on wonderful adventures if you so wished, but first, you had to be willing to get lost on a road that could lead absolutely anywhere. Willing to explore everything nature has to give you, and, only then, would you find true happiness. No one had understood my obsession with it until him. Long car rides were always an inconvenience to my friends, my family, and anyone else in my small town. They were all content where they were. No one ever seemed to want to leave until me. Not even him. But when we met, I could tell he was intrigued by the idea. That day I stumbled upon him in the library changed both …show more content…
In fact, most of these wanderers travel far and wide to get away from the dull, hum-drum of daily life. It is uncommonly stupid to believe that wanderlust is an infection or disease. It’s not a sickness that will rid the world of it’s population. It cannot cause a mass genocide and wipe out the human race. In fact, it promotes integration into other societies. Wandering down the deserted roads in the dead of night is something I have always immensely enjoyed. And now that I'm back, we have the chance to go even farther. In fact, we had the choice to run away together. But once again, he wasn't ready. So instead, we traveled back to our gorgeous lake, and in the isolation that we enjoyed there, we experienced each other's pleasurable company all over again. We took time to get acquainted with each other all over again. Our intimacy needed to be repaired, restored. It had been a long time since we had been together. My body craved him, just as much as it craved leaving this place …show more content…
We both know it. He resents it, I can tell by the way he clenches his jaw. I gently let him know that it’s not him. The small town just suffocates me. I need to be in the open air. He understands, but it still frustrates him. He shares that he misses getting away with me, holding me, fucking me. If I’m being totally honest, I miss it too. The boys where I am are incredibly childish and need constant supervision. No one can be what he is to me. No one even comes close. Our energy gives me life. It encourages me to keep going. My survival depends on knowing that I can come back to this, celebrate my everyday life with him. If it wasn’t for him, I’d run away and never look back. In fact, that was my plan when I met him. That’s why I was so far away. I hadn’t been expecting someone to come into my life. Force me to commit to a long distance. But then, I never expected him. But whenever I’m with him, the need to get away alone grows weaker, and the need to get away fast with him begins to become the new thing I crave. I need him in my life. Without his quiet presence and strong support, I fall apart. My breakdowns have become a daily occurrence in the time I’ve been gone. I’ve become withdrawn. But I still need to go
As a child, I unraveled nature’s beauty and existence. Each new experience brought me feelings of excitement and joy, sparkling my imagination and igniting my curiosity. It all seemed so large back then. Oceans appeared endless as they reached towards the horizon. Treetops seemed to make friends with the puffy-looking clouds as they soared to the sky. Over the years however, as I have grown older and life has become more complex, I am beginning to think less and less about the natural world around me. I glimpse sunset stuck in rush-hour traffic trying to return school after debate practices and only listen to the pitter-patter of the rain when there’s a storm outside. Forests and oceans seemed less appealing as they became intertwined with the urban development. In a way, I was becoming more and more distanced from the so-called nature. So, with an overwhelming desire for adventure and to escape the masses, my family and I drove to Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas last summer.
Life on the road means being completely dependent on nature. Many people travel outdoors because of the compelling beauty of nature. Travelers of the road do it for the thrill, and others for soul-seeking. Nature has a strong effect on humans, whether it’s positive or negative. For example, a travel can either end in acknowledging the beauty of nature or a fatal accident. So many famous writers and philosophers write about the value of nature; Henry David Thoreau, Jack London, Boris Pasternak, and many others. Life on the road has its advantages and disadvantages. This can be seen when Jon Krakauer wrote about Chris McCandless, a very famous traveler and an intelligent man, after his death in the book, Into the Wild. Chris McCandless was a
Some people find happiness in the things we would not consider. Jon Krakauer’s “Into The Wild” tells a story about a young man, Chris McCandless, who rids himself of all materialistic things and goes off to live in the wilderness. McCandless was different from other individuals. He wanted to isolate himself from society in the pursuit of happiness. Although many defined Chris McCandless as “a nutcase”, “a sociopath”, and even “an outcast”, Krakauer characterized McCandless’s true identity as a pilgrim. I believe that McCandless can be identified as a pilgrim because he went on his journey for the reason of passion, simplicity, and in search for truth.
Life of the road isn't meant for everyone. Of course everyone has a different mindset towards this topic but you will have to be in the correct mindset of this situation for this to fall on you. Weather people want to live life on the road or not it isn't suited for everyone. It maybe the sense that some people have a physical condition that will hold them back from going onto the road and doing this maybe the case. In many people's cases that they may love going out into the wilderness and exploring some may not be equipped with these sort of skills and may forgot to be prepared in a sense like Chris McCandless. In Chris’s case he just wanted to get out and explore, such like Jon Krakauer. Jon Krakauer talked about how toxic society was and how he just wanted to escape that. People often go out to explore the wild since they're already on the road but is Mr.McCandless point of view he just wanted to escape society and start fresh. People that don't admire the wild like chris does may change the view of life on the road.
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. (56-57)”
“I couldn't joke about the person who'd saved me from facing absolute heartbreak at home, who fed my family boxes of sweets,who ran to me worried that I was hurt if I asked for him. A month ago, I had looked at the TV and seen a stiff, distant, boring person-someone I couldn't imagine anyone loving. While he wasn't anything close to the person I did love, he was worthy of having someone to love in his life.”
In life, we have to make choices. We make choices on what we eat, what we wear, and how we are going to live our lives. Choices are what make us, us. As we grow older, the choices become more difficult, as we struggle to find our way on the path of life. Often we are searching for a light to lead us in the right direction. For some of us, the light shines brightly in the distance and helps us find our way along the long and bumpy path of life, while for others the light seems to never come, and we struggle along, battling the darkness. We are consistently looking for an escape, a place where we find who we are, what our role is in the world and the meaning of life. Rodrick Nash states in Wilderness and the American Mind, “Wilderness appealed
The outdoors is hidden to many people around the world. All many see is the huge skyscrapers and whitewash walls of the cities. These people don’t tend to be as happy because there isn’t a stress reliever, or a place to get away to. They need this place so that they can have some time to just relax, learn, and develop true happiness. The outdoors is an escape for those who know it and are available to experience it on a regular basis. These places can be the Great Redwood Forests and Lake Almanor in California, to Canada’s vast river and lake systems, to the fields of Kansas, and the mountains of New Zealand. All of these places have one thing in common, the freedom to live. So many city dwellers don’t get to experience these things, which rural people hold to so dearly. The constant hustle and bustle of the city tends to keep people from their happiness. The stress of city life has a way to go “out the window” when you spend time outside with yourself and nature. The ones who can experience the life in the
For many, life out on the road is a way for individuals to experience freedom away from society. When experiencing freedom, it brings happiness to some and creates a fascinating appeal towards what life can potentially be on the road. This idealistic venture is seen in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, narrating the journey of a privileged young adult named Chris McCandless. Krakauer guides the reader through the journey of McCandless of why and how left his old, but very comfortable life for an unpredictable one, by traveling to Alaska and living off its land. While many believe life on the road is a source of finding happiness, it is not an effective way to solve one’s problem; therefore, one should not live life on the road.
Albert Einstein once said “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” The epigrams in chapter three of the biography, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, illustrates Chris McCandless's desire to escape his modern, calm life and explore the unknown to find himself and be reenergized through nature. The two epigrams, “Family Happiness” by Leo Tolstoy and The American West as Living Space by Wallace Stegner describe these traits found in Chris McCandless through his desires and reasoning for leaving society behind. Tolstoy, in his epigram, demonstrates the desire to move away from a peaceful life to find adventure and thrills not found in the normal world. Similarly, Stegner states that the urge to escape our daily lives
Life on the road is not suitable for everyone. Not everyone has the capabilities, personality, or intelligence to live their life on the road. In the novel Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer, the main character, Chris McCandless experiences discomfort on the road such as: starvation, dehydration, traveling on foot for many days, and many more. To live on the road is a personal decision that people, who are like McCandless, make. To begin, living on the road is risking your life on a game of chance.
Paths and nature trails are able to give people a sense of peace, relaxation, a place to exercise, and bring back memories from years ago. Different seasons make you feel a different emotion each time you visit the trail. Due to the change of surroundings, you may feel merry in the winter time, but energetic in the summer time. On the Thomas J. Evans Trail, you get a mixer of a well nourished landscape along with a historical background. City life can be busy and stressful without a break now and then. Visiting a childhood trail can bring forgotten joys that are just waiting to be dug up again. Taking a walk on the trail with the trees high above you and the cement path below gives the impression of openness and freedom. With many animals seen scampering around and the aromas can catch your attention from the various plants that thrive here. Along with the wildlife, numerous people are seen enjoying the scenery along side you. Whether they are riding their bikes or jogging along to the beat of their music, an arrange of activities take part in the
The road, or more appropriately, the path leading the town of Opal essentially consisted of dirt and jagged pebbles. Needless to say it wasn’t the most favored road amongst the neighbors, especially those with wagons as the wheels consisting of flimsier spokes would often break or create a hitch. I didn’t so much have an issue with taking the path, aside from the semi-agonizing distance, as I was wearing my work boots, but it was honestly still an eyesore. However, I enjoyed the views of both the left and right side of the path. They were both rolling hills coated with lush oceans of green, despite the recent frigid weather as they defied the norm associated with the winter season. It was truly transitioning into a beautiful day, allowing the
I would have never thought that I would grow up to love the country life. I went from growing up in a big, busy, and hectic city, to a small, slow-paced, and simple town. I was so used to having neighbors, and walking and biking on a side-walk. Now I live on a gravel road with almost no neighbors. A change in environment really influences a person's personality. I now love the silence and hearing the birds chirp and coyete’s howl. The corn fields go on for miles and the sunsets are breathtaking.
Walking through the trail full of mud and leaves always made me think about my life. It was always there when I needed to walk and get things off my mind. Looking around watching the leaves fall off tree after tree flying like butterflies, all different colors. When they stopped, they immediately died and they were not coming back alive again. Piled leaves filled up under trees and children ran and jumped on them like they were pillows. These trees tripled the height of humans with numerous branches holding hundreds of leaves. While walking the river flows and it is such a beautiful view with the sun shining right off of it. The ducks and little birds chirping and floating through the smooth water puts a joy to my face.