...there was a little girl who wanted to be just like Indiana Jones. Yep, that was me. Nothing was more interesting to me than imagining what life must have been like in the past…amongst the dinosaurs, or in Pompeii on the eve of the catastrophic Mount Vesuvius eruption, during the middle ages, or at the turn of the twentieth century. Somehow, Indy knew all of these things. He seemed to keep them in his back pocket like spare change. I wanted knowledge like that! But not only did Indy know everything, he could do anything—from outrunning giant stone boulders, eating monkey brains, and consistently outsmarting his enemies, to seriously saving the day. Then there was his human quality—his debilitating fear of snakes, which made him all the more real. Indy got scared, Indy got hurt, Indy got laughed at, Indy was just like you and me. And need I mention his extraordinary travels? I mean, the man has really seen some things. Plus, he is way cooler than James Bond. He didn’t use charm and neat gadgets to get out of trouble, he didn’t play or get played by hot babes—Indy used his noggin! He is a little bit gangsta…part nerd, part badass, all adventurer…Indy is the coolest fictional cat I know.
I’ll be the first to own up to my own nerd cred, and I’m working on the whole badass thing. As for adventure, I’ve hiked in the Himalayas and dived in the Caribbean Sea, I’ve sat before the pyramids of Giza in total awe, almost died on the back of a motorcycle, watched sunflowers dance with the sun, listened to the sounds of the jungle, spied a wild tiger stalking his dinner, slept beneath the stars, sailed the ocean blue, and stared into the steaming crater of a volcano. I’ve been in love and I’ve been heartbroken. I’ve seen death, and poverty, and soul-crushing sadness, but I’ve packed a lot of life into my years and have seen and felt such happiness I thought I would explode from the sheer magnificence of it. I’m never more content than when I’m reminded of how vast the world is, when I’m completely and utterly consumed by its size, its beauty, its madness, its people, its history, its constant flux, and by my small place amongst it all.
I realize I’m not exactly out to save the ancient artifacts of the world or defeat the evil Nazi regime, but I do want to live and breathe the world, experience it with all six of my senses like Indy did, see and give back to as much of it as I can, and maybe share a little bit of that exploration with you through words and pictures along the way. Traveling is the only thing that makes me feel real. I know my pal Indy felt that way. So, in the name of adventure, just call me Indiana.
