Adventure begins at "I do"!!!

As I begin to process the reality that I only have three weeks in Korea, the nostalgia kicks in and naturally I reflect on this crazy adventure that I call life..so here goes. If I could sum up the past year in a few words they would be, “It’s always better when we’re together…”

Wait; let’s back track a little...

It all began when I got married the week before my 23rd Birthday. Yes, at the ripe age of 22. Now my guess is that you will fall into one of two categories: either your thoughts just lingered on “Good for you” or “OMG, you poor thing settling down so young”. I can’t fault either of these opinions, I mean I had “If that’s what you feel is right for you then go for it” to “But Caity, you’re so young. You still need to travel and meet people”, and that was just within my immediate family.

I felt in so many ways as if the world portrayed marriage as a simple “settling down” and that meant one thing and one thing only, BOREDOM!! And so, apparently, in an attempt to escape fate and avoid boredom, you need to {no rather YOU MUST} travel, get all the adventure out of your system before you say your “I do’s”.

If, however, you’re going to get married young then the least you can do is to act mature, and buy a home, have kids and agree to utter “Oh, If only I was your age…”, whenever something exciting presents itself. When I walked down the aisle two years ago, tears streaming down my cheeks as I stared into the eyes of the man I would spend the rest of my life with, the last thing I imagined was boredom. No, instead I imagined adventuring together, laughing, having kids and buying home and embracing every dream we ever dreamt, together! Yes, we’d settle down, but settling down would never mean “settling”, instead it would mean adventure!!

If there’s one thing that calls for every man and his dog’s opinion, greater than marriage at 22, it’s announcing that you’re going to leave your stable jobs, Hendrik (aged 30) and me (24), and move abroad to travel, and grow and adventure together.

I completely get why parents advise their kids to travel while they’re young. I understand that once you’re married, bought a home, had kids and formed community that it’s hard to just up and leave, and yes yes yes, it makes all the sense in the world to travel and embrace your more wild/adventurous self before you reach that season of life. But in saying that, it’s also 100% possible to break the mould, and to go with what feels right for you. I’m not saying get married at 22, nor am I saying that you have to wait until you’re 41 – this is your journey and no one has a right to dictate what season you need to be in and when.

There is a freedom that comes when you choose to take life by the horns and say “This is my life, I will live it to the full”. It’s more than just liberating; it gives you wings to fly. There is so much to say for travelling the world alone, and I’m all for it, but looking back over our journey now, I genuinely could not have dreamed of a better adventure, together. Seeing the world, meeting amazing people from different lands, races and cultural groups, experiencing all the emotions that come with being away from home and going through the motions of experiences that challenge your world-view, are all things that I got to experience this past year; but greater than all that is knowing that the man I will wake up next to for the next 60 years was there walking this journey alongside me. For me, memories shared are memories treasured.

We are all on our own journey and whatever that looks like for you; it is beautiful to the one who created you, who birthed those dreams in your heart and who finds such joy in watching them come to being. Follow your heart. And choose wisely those who will have a say in your future; if I had listened to the many voices along this journey, I would never have found myself here, in Korea, about to adventure off on 2 month trip around South East Asia, a month before my 25th birthday, married and more at peace than ever before.

For me, “It’s always better when we’re together”. For you, it may look different….but whatever it does look like, always {always} be true to you!