Last week held a difficult day for my family. October 26 was my brother’s 35th birthday but it was also the 14 year anniversary of his murder. This day, actually each and every day, reminds me that mortality is never a guarantee. LIFE is meant to be lived and enjoyed and celebrated because when it’s gone…well, it’s gone. My brother and I were very much alike in that we are wanderers, travelers, explorers. The world holds so much wonder and mystery; I simply cannot fathom not harboring a desire to uncover it all and see things with my own eyes. So today I cleaned all my possessions out of my car and prepared to turn it over to the new owner. I had two choices: sell my Xterra in order to purchase a plane ticket to Australia OR keep my Xterra and live with my parents indefinitely. So basically, I really only had one choice:)
I realize that a car is just a car and I’m not materialistic in any way…but I love that car. It holds memories that I cherish and most importantly it offers me independence. I’ve driven to Alaska and back in that car. I’ve had some of the best camping trips in that car. I’ve taken my dog to the beach in the back of it and I’ve slept in it while parked on a desolate beach in south central Alaska. My Xterra has provided me with nearly seven years of great memories and more importantly, seven years of no mechanical problems. Thank you Nissan. But the time has come for me to sell my last remaining possession that is actually worth something financially. So the car is sold and I fly out to Oz on November 9 to spend the next year living in Melbourne and volunteering with displaced and/or injured koalas. I’ll also be working in order to bring money in. As I sit and type this I suddenly realized that I leave in just over a week. And while I’ve been trying to get myself Down Under for many years, it just all seemed to happen so fast. But like I’ve always said: “life works out the way it’s meant to”. The timing was never right for me to go to Australia but now it is. Now I have a trusted friend that has opened her home to me (thanks Georgia! You’re the best Crazy Coconut ever!). I have friends and contacts around the whole of Australia and I have the knowledge, passion and desire to give my time selflessly to the best interest of a less fortunate creature whose habitat is being destroyed in the name of ‘progress’. No car is worth keeping if it means passing up on the next year of awesomeness. However, I still need to raise about $1,000 to live on until I get my first paycheck. Rest assured that any and all help, no matter the contribution size, will go to the most precious of causes. Do you want your children to be raised in a world where koala bears are extinct? I didn’t think so:)