mary-kirwin polite

Ever since I can remember, my dad has drilled two words in my head, “stay curious.”

I have been taught that being curious and asking questions can lead to incredible memories, and I have seen what it does. I have grown up with the desire to travel into the unknown and experience things that I would not in my day to day life. I was fortunate to encounter the unknown through a mystery trip that I signed up for. I did not know where I was going. I was given a packing list and told to meet at the Atlanta airport.

Through this trip, I learned that there is nothing wrong with not knowing what will happen next. I also left that trip with a sense of understanding that things may not go the way we planned them to go. Life has its way of surprising you- I remember when we took a break from one of our hikes my friends and I just stopped. We were met with inspiring and amazing views that we would have never seen if we did not take the chance to put ourselves into the unknown. Since then, I have tried to force myself into situations where I can stop and soak in life. These situations are not Patagonia like the first experience, but I have made it a goal to stay curious and be adventurous in my everyday life.