Curveballs

Molly Hamond loved her life. Why? Because in reality, she was living the dream most people just wished they could achieve. Okay, maybe not everyone’s dream, but she’d definitely defied the odds of a traditonal 35 year-olds life. 

10 years ago she’d be stuck at a secretary job at an Insurance company in Atlanta, GA. Yes, there are much, much worse occupations you could be doing at 25. But there was also very little sense of adventure in your life when all your doing is answering phones and struggling everyday to get the copy machine to work.

There had to be more to life, right?

So when Molly’s highschool friend Katie invited her up to California for her sister’s surprise birthday party, Molly jumped on the chance to venture out to the unknown. In fact, she was so motivated by this stroke of luck at a real adventure that she quit her job. Yep. She packed up her belongings into her 2001 red Camry and set her sights for California.

That was only the beginning. Because she did have an actual destination, not much sightseeing happened on her way - she really didn’t take to many stops until she hit beautiful Santa Barbara, California.

Looking back, that party really was great. Made even better by the fact for Molly, It was such a defining moment in her life. The trip that made her wild and free spirit come to fruition. 

Okay, so now that we’ve got that back story done, lets fast forward 10 years, shall we?

Molly’s only been back to Atlanta once, and that for her parent’s anniverary. Her life’s been on the road every since that fateful trip to California.

She’s updated her car, bought herself an economy loving Prius (Okay, in reality it’s been way better on her gas bills - but she tells herself it’s better for the environment.)

Everything she owns fits in her trunk with just a little overflow in the backseat. Windows rolled down, she drives from city to city, occasionally taking a scenic nature route.

The real question you're probably asking, how is she affording to live like this? Like, for a living? 

Well, She did go to college as an English Major. Maybe I forgot to mention that? She was one of those students that worked diligently, graduated, and promptly went and found a job that she could support herself, regardless of if that was what she wanted to do.

So back to how she’s supporting her grand adventure. Thankfully on that first trip she’d brought her camera and her laptop, something she didn’t know would become a crucial part of her life.

She started a blog of all her travels - writing about the gorgeous sights, the wonderful different cuisines, and the little known sights to find if you know where to look.

As you’ve probably guessed, it was a hit. Sure, her first readers were her parents, but that was quickly followed by her old coworkers and college friends - and before she knew it, her blog was gaining followers rapidly everyday. So much so that her dreams of becoming a real writer were a reality before she hardly even realized it. 

For Molly cities are definitely her go to spots when she needs writing motivation, but she definitely never let that stop her adventurous side. 

So one day while sitting in Salt Lake City, Utah, at a cute little coffee shop nestled in downtown, Molly looked up from her laptop and stopped to appreciate it all. Just life in general. A life she never knew could even be real. A life she never even imagined when she was stuck in that office building for 40 hrs a week.

She smiled as she looked down at the article she was working on. Proceeding to write again, she ended it with these words: 

“Life sure does have a tendency of throwing you curveballs. For some people, they back away. That’s the safe thing to do when one is thrown, right? Just step back and wait for a straight and obvious hit. But if you do that, most of the time you’ll miss the greatest moments. You’ll be stuck in a rut because you won’t just put yourself out there and GO FOR IT. So guys, if I could leave you with one piece of advice - don’t be afraid of those curveballs. Embrace them. Face them head on. The reward, the outcome will be that much greater.”