Every travel blog and instagram is awash in cheesy travel quotes (e.g., some form of “a boat is safe in a harbor but that’s not what boats are built for”) so, while this isn’t a journey of #selfdiscovery, I figured it is only appropriate to start my blog off with one of my favorite quotes that, quite fittingly, is a travel quote:
It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Bilbo Baggins
I loved all things fantasy and sci-fi growing up but LotR holds a special place in my heart (Lord of the Rings, for my less fantasy savvy readers). One of the reasons why I find it such a compelling story, beyond the phenomenal world J.R.R. Tolkien invites us into, is that the main heroes are not suave, hyper-competent, and unstoppable adonises but unassuming hobbits, completely out of their element, who defeat evil through sacrifice, determination, and hiking (or it could be that the movies came out in my early teenage years and DAMN THEY ARE GOOD! Talk about an epic multi-hour New Zealand travel commercial!).
When I first read the books and watched the movies, my favorite character was Aragorn, son of Arathor, High King of Gondor and Arnor, and one of the biggest badasses in all of epic fantasy. But over time, as I’ve revisited Middle Earth, I’ve realized the character I aspire to be is Samwise (Sam) Gamgee - the unflinchingly loyal, brave, and determined best friend/lifeline of the main character, Frodo Baggins. Sam’s entire role is a supporting one, but it is only with his help that Frodo endures the trials and tribulations to destroy The One Ring and save Middle Earth.
It was in high school when it first clicked for me in that I felt the most fulfillment from supporting others. I look back fondly at the cross country team’s achievements and my small role in helping others realize their running potential. Mostly by random strokes of luck, I was fortunate enough to continue to help others through being a Resident Assistant, a Kitchen Manager, a Tour Guide, a Stapher (a summer camp counselor), and a friend through the turbulent times that are college. That luck continued to bring me to my first job after school at Redstone Strategy Group, a boutique non-profit consulting firm dedicated to helping foundations, non-profits, governments, and other impact oriented organizations solve the world’s most challenging social problems. I learned so much from all of my experiences but it was Redstone that provided me with some tactical approaches and skills to help others realize impact at scale to make the world a better place.
As a 24 year old, most of my decisions been the results of stepping into a new space (or road, to link this metaphor to the quote above), being swept off my feet, and letting the river of time take me to interesting and valuable opportunities. However, as I’ve become increasingly aware of the existential crises facing our planet, I want to step into a new road, one that helps me better understand the people facing and making these crises so that I can try to determine how best I can help make a difference. And it is with that theme that I’ve decided to travel around the world with Jordan. I have three key goals for this trip:
Better understand the people facing and creating the world’s most challenging social problems: For one of the first times in human history, we are facing species-wide threats that require all of us to change our behavior like climate change, antibiotic resistance, and the extinction of both diverse species and cultures. For some, the impact will be felt in the decades to come and for others, the acute effects are already impacting their daily lives. I hope to meet many people facing and creating these challenges so that I can better understand how to help make an impact.
Develop my impact hypothesis: In the social impact sector, good strategy relies on having a hypothesis about how the world works and how it would respond to a particular intervention (this is known by many names but is most commonly called a “Theory of Change”). I hope to develop an impact hypothesis to help guide my work moving forward. Currently, I have a suspicion that resilient communities will be vital for the future. There is probably a size at which humans can live most sustainably, creating and sharing resources efficiently and effectively using systems like sharing economies, microgrids, hydroponics, and creative urban planning. However, infrastructure to connect these communities together must also exist to preserve and celebrate the uniqueness of others and our environments. I’m looking forward to learning about communities around the world and how they balance their local community with the global community.
Have time- and energy-expensive experiences: I know that as I grow older I’ll start to have more ties to specific locations like a home or pets or children, my body will prevent me from being quite as bold as I am now, and I’ll be spending more time on my career. The combination of these three factors means that, while I might have more money to travel later in life, I will certainly have less time and energy. I hope to have experiences that are time- and energy-expensive and are unique to this moment in my life like taking a month to learn how to mountaineer in Nepal (shoutout to Tashi!).
It is with these three goals, a 40L backpack, a lightweight small duffel, and Jordan that I begin my travels. I’m looking forward to meeting new friends, learning as much as I can, overcoming challenges, and having unique experiences. And who knows, maybe there will be some #selfdiscovery along the way, too. I’m excited for wherever I’ll be swept off to next.
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I’ll be trying to consistently update a blog with some streams-of-consciousness (like this post), insights, useful tips, and general musings at connorajordan.com. You can find pictures of our journey @twoflannels_onetrip. Also, we would love to see you out on the road so please see our frequently updated tentative itinerary here and ping us if you would like to meet up. Finally, we would also appreciate any recommendations on things to do, places to go, and people to meet.