5. Putting it out there

 If you've persisted to read this far then I should probably introduce myself a little better, and for anyone reading this that hasn't known me for a long time, I've never been a very public person.  In my 8th grade yearbook I was voted "Most Shy".  At the start of high school I had shaggy hair parted down the middle, glasses and wore sweats everyday - a look I've tried to forget but somehow my high school buddies find a way to resurface photos or video every couple years, thanks guys.  Social media has changed me a little, but going through a fitness journey the last couple years has really given me a lot more confidence in myself than I've ever had.

Doing the research for this trip has caused some inflection as well, seeing as many people already out there doing it (whatever IT might be) as there are people sitting at home wondering if they can also do it.  The last decade I've certainly learned a lot about myself, some of which came through the school of hard knocks and some on the couch of a therapist of a 'paid friend' as my former boss used to call it.

Now a couple chapters into this blogging thing I'm finding that writing about what's on my mind has a sense of therapy in itself - credit to a former paid friend who suggested I try 'journaling'. Of course I'm looking forward to the upcoming trip, but the more I write about it the more I'm finding a new and unexpected part of the adventure.