Planning to commit career suicide was never my intention.
Dragging my impressionable 19-year-old younger brother with me, well, that is just an added bonus.
I had a plan. I was goal oriented. I could see the bigger picture.
Then I turned 25 and that important career path and those life goals, they became distant memories as I struggled with the fact that, I am not getting any younger.
I blame my father for the quarter-life crisis I am experiencing. For years he had me confused about how old I am. When people asked my age, I would really have to stop and think. Not OK Dad!
So then, I turned 25 or 26 or 27 … who really knows. I’m no math wizard.
My world stopped. Those life goals and the fork in the road thing that all young people who think they are getting old start to see kept creeping up on me. I hated it. I despised it. I wanted to run while waving my arms in the air, screaming, being as melodramatic as possible, from that predetermined road.
And so, I did.
On Aug. 31, I will be leaving my beloved hometown of Seal Beach to embark on what I hope to be the biggest adventure of my life.
My brother Jake and I will be headed to the “land down under” to experience the life of a nomad. Taking only what we can carry on our back, we will see what the other side of the world has to offer.
When I first began this plan of adventure, the idea was absolutely thrilling. Take a year off from work and school to travel to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Fiji. What could possibly be better than throwing your responsibilities to the wind to live life young?
Reality is beginning to hit Jake and I as we start our rounds of “goodbyes.” In the meantime, we have been getting our fair share of Nick’s Breakfast Burritos, Javatini’s Coffee and Waki Sushi in preparation. Jake has been surfing as many Seal Beach waves as other locals will allow, attempting to say his own “goodbyes” to the place we grew up.
I have been throwing all my free time in volunteering at the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, trying to do my part before I leave. Both of us are saying goodbye in our own ways, not only to our lifestyles, but also to our community.
Seal Beach has been such an amazing place to grow up. We both have a lot of pride when we tell others where we are from. Who wouldn’t? Seal Beach is one of the very few sleepy little beach towns in Southern California that holds its small town feel and traditions. There is no better place to be from.
Yet here we are, leaving what we know and love.
Bursting our little hometown bubble, Jake and I will take two different approaches to our journey. Jake will be searching for inspiration for a book he is writing, submersing himself into the wilderness and going against the norms of society.
I will be fighting adulthood and trying to live life young.
We will both be going on our separate paths, on two different journeys, hoping to meet somewhere in the middle and reintroduce ourselves to the different people we have become.
You can learn all about our adventures through our blogs, Jake at Tellytales.tublr.com and myself as 25yearsyoung.com
We are both on a journey of a lifetime.
As the anxiety of our upcoming adventure continues, we would like to say a little thank you to our loving community of Seal Beach.
To our friends and family who have supported us, and the local business who have fed us. We won’t ever forget you.
Lauren and Jake Tellkamp grew up in Old Town Seal Beach.
