Escapees March/April 2016

Different V iewpoints

Read more on Heath’s lifestyle blog: www.HeathPadgett.com

Alyssa and Heath Photo by Alex Mckissack .

“These doubts were loud, but not loud enough to stop Alyssa and me from buying an RV and hitting the road.”

“Getting old is real, and this life ends faster than we think.”

Why I Didn’t Wait Over a year ago, I made a choice that forever changed the course of life for my wife and me. Should I stay in a well-paying job to help save up mon- ey and pay off debt? Or should we sell the few things we have, buy an RV and hit the road after our wedding? It was a hard decision. Sitting in my cubicle in a high-rise in downtown Austin, I found myself constantly daydream- ing about what else was going on out there in the world and thinking there must be more. I was miserable, yet I was terri ¿ ed of what my parents, friends and coworkers would think if I told them I was going to quit my job and travel the country in an RV at 23 years old. I would look like an idiot. The voices in my head were as loud as ever. “Play it safe. Everyone has to work a few years doing something they don’t like. What makes you special? Who are you to quit your job and travel the country? Are you sure you have enough savings? What about student debt?” These doubts were loud, but not loud enough to stop Alyssa and me from buying an RV and hitting the road. There is a ¿ ne line between some of the choices we make. One decision can change the entire direction of your life. For me, a choice to walk away from a job last year turned into the second best decision of my life (the ¿ rst is the girl I married!). Since then, I’ve worked in every state in America and probably acquired more life experiences than many people twice my age. I’ve been able to supple- ment an income for us to continue traveling. I had almost waited until “the right time to travel.” I almost waited until we were more settled in our lives, had more savings and a better plan. Life is funny like that. We accept mediocrity and then face resistance when we try to step out of line to do something awesome. I felt that resis- tance from a lot of people. When I was working at a job in Chicago at a local pizza shop, I met an Italian guy around my age, named Ludwig. He was telling me all the places he had traveled, jobs he’d worked and how his parents had actually encouraged him

to travel. That last part blew me away. I had never heard of parents telling their kids they needed to go see the world. Most parents tell their kids they need to get a steady job. His mom told him, “You need to go and experience as much as you can around the world, so you can know what you want to do and be in life.” She carried a philosophy that, to ¿ nd work we love and to live a meaningful life, we have to be willing to travel and experience a world where people are different from ourselves. I’m on Ludwig’s mom’s team! I share these stories to persuade others not to wait, to not be like the countless people who have e-mailed me in the past year telling me they wish they had “gone for it” when they were my age. Getting old is real, and this life ends faster than we think. This can apply to more than travel. If you want to start a business, write a book or ¿ lm a documentary—do it now. Last year when we hit the road, I had never been paid to write, no ¿ lm experience, and $27,000 of student debt. I had reasons and excuses to wait for better timing. The excuses we tell ourselves are only fear in disguise. It’s fear of failing, looking dumb or maybe having a big gap on your résumé if you decide to travel for a year. You may run out of money? Check. Or have a fridge blow up? Yep. Have an RV breakdown? More than once. But those real-life scary moments make for the best stories. Most fears are irrational, and I’ve found that people are more kind, open and optimistic than you imagine. I’ve worked in every state, met people from all walks of life and have spent the night in parking lots in parts of town that scared me. But I’m better for it. Don’t wait to live. Don’t put off doing something today because you think tomorrow is guaranteed. It’s not. Our health, our lives and our energy for life will all go away sooner than we think. Heath Padgett, documentary filmmaker and blogger at HeathPadgett.com

60 . ESCAPEES | March/April 2016 | www.escapees.com