learning to dive
I never learned how to dive as a kid.
Even though we grew up in the water- swimming in pools, jet-skiing on the lake, boogie-boarding at the beach; hell, I was a certified life-guard in high school, I never learned how to dive.
Which is a funny thing, because if you think about it, it doesn't seem all that hard. You stand on the edge of the pool (or diving board if you’re super brave), hold your arms above your head, and jump head-first into the water.
But if you’ve never done it before, maybe that’s the scary part… hurling yourself into something head-first.
I’m thirty-something years old, and although I never learned to plunge into the deep-end like an olympian from Team USA, I have plenty of experiences diving head-first into life.
When you’re young, you can’t help but overhear all of the expectations that society has for you. And granted, I’m a proud 90’s baby, and I realize that our American society has evolved (some) since then, there are still these beliefs engrained into our culture about how a person’s Life Checklist should unfold:
Go to school.
Get the grades.
Take the AP classes.
Dual Enroll.
Apply for scholarships.
Choose the college.
Commit to a single major.
Land the job.
Work 9-5.
Climb the ladder.
Find the partner.
Tie the knot.
Have the kids.
Save the money.
Buy the house.
Retire at the age of 67.
And although they’re often harmless and well-meaning, family and friends (and sometimes complete strangers) apply all of this unsolicited pressure when they feel you’re not checking the items off of your checklist by a certain age.
But when you really stop and think about it, the average age expectancy in the United States right now is 76 years old. A Harvard article from April of 2023 explains that 76 is currently the shortest life expectancy number that our country has faced in over two decades.
So if we’re expected to live until we’re 76 years old, and work until we’re 67, that means that if you started working at the age of 15, you will have worked non-stop for 52 years of your life. And after all of that time, if you’re lucky enough to still be here at the age of 67, then you finally get the carrot you’ve been chasing for over 5 decades. A solid 9 years of retirement.
All of that to say… I’m not sure that life is meant to be lived so linear.
You know what? Screw the checklist.
Kyle and I woke up one day in January of this year and decided to take a trip over to Savannah for coffee. We hopped in the car and drove 45 minutes to visit one of our favorite coffee shops, the Gallery, and took our coffees for a walk around some of the tree-lined squares.
During that day date, we made a resolution. Albeit well after New Year’s Eve, but nevertheless a goal to meet before the end of the year. The goal being to accomplish one of our lifelong dreams and travel the world for 12 months (give or take).
I’m sure you, like many others who have heard the story, have questions… how can you afford it? what about your jobs? what are your going to do when you get back?
To be honest, we have answers to most of those things. I may share in later posts. But the reason I’m sharing this now is because we have made the decision to dive head-first into the unknown. Together.
Life is too freaking short to be lived so linear. We have a dream of seeing the world: learning from others, searching our souls, opening our minds, healing our hearts, and finding ourselves.
And quite frankly, we decided on that chilly day in Savannah that we didn’t want to wait until we were 67 to do it.
You know what? Screw the checklist. We’re checking things off of our list in no particular order and possibly eliminating some items off of our list entirely.
This is the part where we linger dangerously close to the edge. The sticky, chlorine-scented air filling our lungs. The words of wisdom and worries swirling around in our heads, as we take that next step into the ocean blue below us.
So here’s to another scary and exhilarating dive into the abyss. We’re taking a leap off of the high dive and hoping that the uncharted water below breaks our fall. And that we come back to the surface better and stronger than we were before.
About the Author
Hi I’m Jess. Jessica. Hemby. Mangano. Joyful. Call me by whichever, and I’ll answer.
My husband, Kyle, and I are two 30-somethings traveling around the world in one year together. We began in September of 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Our goal is to use this space to share our memories, photographs, and thoughts on the many places we get to see as we abroad.
Follow our journey on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
