Welcome Home

Well, last week, after three full days of cross-country driving, I arrived in Los Angeles. It was a long, tiring, and restless journey. But after a full, peaceful night (and a good portion of a day) of sleep knowing that I have made it across the country in one piece, I could finally breathe a sigh relief.

And now that that's over with, I can let the real the fun begin.

I'm not too incredibly proud to admit that I didn't really have everything, or really anything, figured out before coming all the way out here. Of course, at the same time, I knew if my plan was to have everything figured out, I probably never would have left Georgia. 

You can't enter into these kinds of situations without a plan, but that's exactly what I did. I don't have a job or a place to live. All I have is a gut feeling that this is where I'm supposed to be. That this is a place I can call my home and that there are people here that I can call family.

I didn't follow a dream out here, or a big job opportunity, or a girl. I followed my heart, and I feel that my heart has lead me home.
 
Wednesday night, when I came rolling into the big city, I was greeted by a friend and the first thing he said to me was, "Welcome home, man!" Those words hit me like a brick. Sometimes when my mind gets so focused on the details of the past or the future, I need an external voice to snap me back to the present. In that moment, I had no job, no place to live, and I had just driven through the desert in a car without air conditioning, but I was home. I am home.

A.I.

If by any chance you ever read this, just know that you really went above and beyond in making me feel at home. I am so grateful for everything you've done and I am proud to call you my brother!

J.W.

Home is a place that you strive to make a little better each day. It's a place where you find beauty even if no one else sees it. It's where love is always easy to find and even easier to give. It's where you feel a sense of purpose and belonging. I am home!

So far, it has been a long journey (and an even longer process getting over the exhaustion of it). But I do believe that the road trip out here was not a race to the finish, but it was a journey to the start of another race. Where, when, how, or even if it will finish is beyond my knowledge or control. 

But, hey, that's the adventure!

                                                                              

Road Full of Promise

I suppose I do owe a fair bit of exposition after the vagueness of my first post. I'm just trying to think of where the most practical place for me to begin would be. Let me just let the ball drop where it may and hope it starts rolling in the right direction.

I've lived in rural Georgia my entire life. It's nice, it's quite, and it's comfortable. My drink of choice is homemade sweet tea and my vocabulary is heavily garnished with the word y'all. But I always knew that I wouldn't be in Georgia forever. I always said that I wanted to go on an adventure, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to go out, inspire and be inspired.

Over a year ago, when I graduated high school, I had no idea what the next stage of my life was gonna be. I didn't really view the college route as an option because... Well, seriously, who really goes to college these days anyways? (Everyone, that's who!) I just knew deep down that it wasn't the right path for me to take.

Instead, I took a year off to figure out who it is I wanted to be and what I was supposed to do. It was a long year full of prayer, mediation, and soul searching. A long year of waiting.

Fast forward to one year later, this past April to be exact, and not much has changed, except for the fact that I was in possession of a plane ticket to visit a good friend in Los Angeles. It was just meant to be a visit, just to see what it was like. What it became was something much, much more.

Many different voices spoke to me during the course of that one short week, and it seemed like they were all saying the same thing. Though, not like in a Stanley Kubrick sort of fashion. These voices kept telling me that it was time to take a leap of faith. And quite honestly, it scared me. I was scared of the thought of such drastic change and stepping out on my own. And it was in that moment that I realized I had become the complete opposite of the person that I wanted to be.

I wanted to be someone that charged at the opportunity for adventure, not shy away when it knocks at the door. It was really the first time in my life where I came to a major crossroad. A choice had to be made. I could either overcome my fears, step out into the unknown and embark on a quest to find out who I'm supposed to be, where I'm supposed to be, and what I'm supposed to do, or keep waiting for a 'someday' that might never come.

So, here I am writing this post while my car is being serviced so that it can make the 2,300 mile trek across the country. I don't know what all awaits me on the other side, but sometimes the heart just knows that there's light and fresh air at the other end of a dark tunnel. All you need to do is follow it.

Back in April in Los Angeles, my friend turned me on to a band called The Avett Brothers. I instantly connected with their music and felt like I should have known about them a long time ago. One of my personal favorite's of theirs is a song called Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise. In the song, there's a line that says, "Decide what to be and go be it." It's a challenge calling all people to take ownership of the person they were meant to be and pursue it to whatever end.

I know I am about to embark on a great and treacherous adventure. I will choose not to let fear change who I am or hold me back from grabbing hold of daring opportunities. Though the road may be dark and full of uncertainty, it is also full of inspiration, destiny, and promise.

And right now the mechanic is calling and telling me that my car is ready. I can only hope that I'm ready too.

                                                                              

Prologue

I suppose a quick introduction is in order. My name is Joshua Winders I. I'm a native to the great state of Georgia, straight A high school grad (Just let me brag about it while I can), storyteller, aspiring sumo wrestler, red head, and now, apparently, a blogger.

I've never really and truly expressed interest in venturing into the realm of blogging. A part of it can be contributed to my insecurity of putting my thoughts and ideas on a public display for others to see, wondering whether or not they would accept them or if they would even care. It's a weakness that I'm in the process of overcoming, and this blog is a vital tool to aid in that process. 

One question that I have asked myself during this process is:

"Why start a blog and why now?"

My mind right now is a mess of thoughts and ideas that reflect the crazy and hectic image of my current life. I guess you could say that this blog is a way for me to clear my mind and to attempt to translate and organize the seemingly indecipherable contents of my brain.

I'm entering into a new and very strange stage of my life. It's a stage filled with a lot of change and a lot of uncertainty. And with change and uncertainty comes adventure. I know what it feels like to live life in a mundane way, and I know I don't like it. Life is meant to be an adventure, life is meant to be lived alive. It's meant to be shared.

I mostly just see myself simply on a journey to find out who it is that I am meant to be in this world and how I can take ownership of that person. It's a journey in search of honor, purpose, beauty, love, enlightenment, inspiration, and adventure. I invite you to join me on this journey.

I could go into so much detail on what is going on in my life, but I think I'll save all of that for future posts. Right now, I just wanted to introduce myself and create a foundation for my mind to build on.

I'm not some wise and powerful young man with insight into life's nagging questions. I'm just a kid from the backwoods of Georgia. This is my journey. My journey is my story. 

And this... 

This Is Adventure.