My name is Katherine, but most everybody calls me Kat.  I am a senior just about to graduate from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors Degree in English, Communication Studies, and Writing.  

 

I am in love with the idea of traveling, but I always had it in my head that I'd need to wait...for age, for a partner, for stability... It also doesn't help that as a woman I'm constantly told, "You can't travel alone, you're a woman."  As if I hadn't noticed. 

 

I may only be 21, but I've lived long enough to notice that life rarely conforms to the neat little plans we make for ourselves.  I could plan to work a 9-5 desk job and get married within five years of graduation, and life might say, "Hah!  That's cute, you're actually getting hit by a bus tomorrow."  I for one don't intend to arrive on my death bed with my most valued dreams unlived, and I think it would be a disservice to myself to think that I have to wait for help or permission to live them. So against the odds (and the wishes of friends and family who think I'm insane), I'm going to take a gap year to travel the United States. The goal is to start in Michigan (home base) in July 2014, head west along the Canadian border, down along the west coast, back east across the southern half of the country, and then up the east coast to make it home in fall of 2015.

  

Before I head out, I'm going to sort out my applications to higher ed programs, and then au revoir Michigan winters!  For the duration of the trip, I plan to seek out professionals who lead their dream careers.  I want to learn.  I want to broaden my definition of what it means to live well.  I also want to volunteer and perform community service anywhere that my help will be accepted along the way. 

 

We're told our entire lives that we can't do things for some reason or another, but that's how all the best success stories start.  And so will mine.  Will making this dream happen be easy?  Nope.  Will I at times think that I've made a huge mistake?  Probably.  Am I going to do it anyways?  Absolutely. This plan terrifies me. And that's how I'm certain it's exactly what I need to do.

 

If you're interested in following my progress from planning to execution, stay tuned!  If you're interested in sponsoring me on my way to taking one major item off my bucket list, contact me about sponsorship!   

 

Much love,

Kat