Not Having an Agenda Is OK

I have spent the first and only 20 years of my life in Texas. Sure, it's a wonderfully big state with lots to do, but I never saw its true beauty like I did when I went to the state of Colorado.

I didn't have a set agenda or really any plans for the summer. All I knew was I needed to go and do and see what else was out there. I had just come out of a long relationship that ended sour and I wanted to start fresh and be me again without any attachments.

I set out to go zip lining with the family at the start of my first week in Colorado. By the end of the two hour tour, I somehow managed to land a job working as a zip line guide for one of the best Rafting and Zip Line companies in the area, Arkansas Valley Adventures. I didn't wake up that morning with plans to get a job. It just sort of happened. I was talking one minute with my guide who turned out to be the manager and started training the next day. Just like that. It's amazing the opportunities you come across and the friendships you make when you are open to anything and have no set agenda.

I had wanted to climb all 53 14er's (14,000 foot mountains) in Colorado by the end of the summer. But with working almost every day of the week, it was hard to find time. I finally had a morning off, so the night before, I drove to the start of Grays Peak trail head and was up hiking to the summit by three AM the next morning. It wasn't in the books to originally do that week or even on my radar at this point because of work, but I saw the opportunity and took it! I began that morning with a headlamp and the glow of the moon in the sky. I couldn't see anything but the path. By the time I reached the summit, the sun rays had just begun stretching across the sky. I sat at the top and took in every moment. I could have hiked across the saddle back over to Torreys Peak, but to be honest, I didn't think I would even get off my rump to make it back to the bottom, much less hike to the next peak over.

One night as we were closing up shop, we decided it was the perfect night for a little night hiking. Again, I strapped on my headlamp and we headed up to Saint Mary's Glacier. To this day, I have still not seen it in the daylight. But the adventure was priceless. Three of the four of us had headlamps that were on the fritz and it wasn't your average road covered in pebbles, they were basically boulders we were trying not to twist our ankles on. And on top of all of that, we were just kind of guessing on how to reach the actual glacier. But eventually, we made it to the top and although we couldn't see much of anything, we sat and took in its beauty. The stars were quite the sight all by themselves. They were everywhere.

Needless to say, the experiences I had and friendships I made while in Colorado were priceless. It wasn't pre-planned and there was no set agenda. I simply decided to just go and do and see what all the world had to show me. There is something freeing about being able to say yes because you don't have any set plans. If you've made it this far, I encourage to pick a place you've never been and just go. You don't need a fancy hotel or a travel package. Heck, I just lived out of my car most of the time. Simply just decide to go.