ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESTINATION AND DIRECTION

HOW IT TOOK ME QUITTING MY JOB, DROPPING A PHD OFFER, AND LEAVING HOME TO FIND OUT WHERE I’M GOING

BY SONIA MICHAELSEN

NOT TOO LONG AGO, I READ A BOOK, THE SNOW GEESE, ABOUT A BRITISH MAN WHO BECOMES FASCINATED BY BIRDS, ESPECIALLY GEESE. HE BECOMES SO INTRIGUED BY THEM THAT HE ACTUALLY DECIDES TO TRAVEL TO NORTH AMERICA AND FOLLOW THEIR MIGRATION NORTH. THE WAY HE WRITES… HE INTERSPERSES FACTS ABOUT BIRDS AND GEESE, STUDIES DONE ON THEM, THROUGHOUT STORIES OF HIS OWN PERSONAL TRAVELS, EXPERIENCES, THE PEOPLE HE MEETS.

THERE WAS THIS ONE STUDY HE WROTE ABOUT WHERE BIRDS WERE PUT INTO A CAGE, UNABLE TO FLY. WHEN THE TIME CAME WHERE THEY WERE TYPICALLY SUPPOSED TO MIGRATE, THEY GOT RESTLESS. THEY WOULD CONTINUOUSLY MOVE IN THE DIRECTION THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MIGRATING TOWARDS, WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THEIR CAGE. THEY JUST KNEW… DESPITE THE CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT, IN CIRCUMSTANCE, THERE WAS SOMETHING SO DEEP-SEEDED IN THEM THAT KEPT THEM ON A CERTAIN PATH. READING THAT, I WAS IN AWE, ALMOST BORDERLINE JEALOUSY. MOST OF US SPEND OUR ENTIRE LIVES TRYING TO FIND THE PATH WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON. BUT WITHOUT ANY DOUBT OR HESITATION, THEY JUST KNEW.

FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS OF MY LIFE, I HAVE BEEN TRAVELLING THE WORLD. I HAVE HAD NO SET PLANS, NO IDEA WHAT I’D BE DOING BEYOND THE ADVENTURE OF THE MOMENT. IT’S NOT A TERRIBLE WAY TO LIVE – BEING A WANDERER MEANS BEING OPEN-MINDED, BEING ADVENTUROUS, BEING WELCOME TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES. IT FORCES YOU TO LET GO, TO PUSH AND CHALLENGE YOURSELF, TO MOVE BEYOND THE CONFINES OF YOUR BUBBLE. IT CAN BE EXCITING AND CAREFREE, YET OVERWHELMING, CONFUSING, AND LONELY ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I’VE HAD SO MANY EXPERIENCES, SO MANY ADVENTURES, BUT SOMETIMES MY LIFE FEELS LIKE A JUMBLE OF PUZZLE PIECES FROM 10 DIFFERENT PUZZLES. I’VE HAD MANY DESTINATIONS, BUT HAVE I HAD DIRECTION?

PERHAPS IRONICALLY, IT TOOK ME QUITTING MY JOB, DROPPING A PHD OFFER, AND LEAVING HOME TO LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. DESTINATIONS CAN BRING ADVENTURE, DIRECTION CAN BRING MEANING. THAT BEING SAID, I DON’T BELIEVE THEY HAVE TO BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. BUT I DO WANT TO FIND DIRECTION, PURPOSE, LIKE THE GEESE. TO KNOW WHERE IT IS THAT I’M SUPPOSED TO BE, TO KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT I AM MEANT TO DO. UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE NOT GEESE. IT IS UP TO US TO CREATE DIRECTION FOR OURSELVES, AND PERHAPS THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN.

IT IS WITH THIS IN MIND THAT MY MOST RECENT DESTINATION IS MY HOMETOWN OF MONTREAL. I AM READY FOR THE NEXT ADVENTURE – PLANTING ROOTS, FINDING DIRECTION.

AND I CAN’T WAIT.

GETTING TO KNOW SONIA

I’M A WALKING CONTRADICTION. A VEGETARIAN WHO LOVES MEAT, A HEALTH JUNKIE WHO’S A 300 POUND FATTY ON THE INSIDE, A THINKER WHO LOVES TO TALK, A MOTIVATED PROCRASTINATOR, AN EXTROVERTED INTROVERT, AN IMPULSIVE PERSON WHO OVERTHINKS EVERYTHING, A SPONTANEOUS PERSON WHO NEEDS ROUTINE, AND A LOVER OF SILENCE WITH THE WORLD’S LOUDEST LAUGH.

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT MY TRAVELS HERE AND CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS HERE.

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY SONIA MICHAELSEN UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

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