What If I Told You?

What if I told you all I wanted was to bear my soul?

What if I told you all I wanted was to paint in every state, country, and comune?

What if I told you I never wanted to look at a phone, see another app, or be on social media?

What if I told you all I wanted was to be nude by the sea somewhere?

What if I told you I wanted to live 50 lives in one, all before 40?

What if I told you I wanted to have a lover—man and woman—to hold me close in every border I crossed?

What if I told you I wanted to exist so slowly, I could watch every leaf that ever fell?

What if I told you I wanted to go to Spain just to learn how to dance?

What if I told you I wanted to go to France, just for the croissant?

What if I told you I wanted to visit New York just to take a walk?

What if I told you I wanted to go to Cape Verde to understand the music?

What if I told you I wanted to move to Vietnam for the people?

Travel to Thailand to find religion, peace?

What if I told you I wanted to sail the ocean in a small boat, knowing nothing about either?

What if I told you I wanted to bike from South Africa, through Botswana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, and end in Cairo?

What if I told you I wanted to go to Japan to race cars?

What if I told you for the next 10 years, I was going to go everywhere, do everything?

What if I told you, right now, I’ve never even left my country?

That I’ve never been on a plane?

That I’ve never seen the ocean?

That travel is all I’ve thought about for 12 years.

And would you believe me if I told you in a few years I’d have an overstamped passport,

I’d have more green than I’d know what to do with,

I’d own my Alfa Romeo,

I’d live in Japan,

I’d speak fluent Spanish,

I'd have a loft in London,

I’d spend every night out, making up for lost time,

I’d have a lover in every city to make up for my loneliness.

Tell me—would you believe me then?

Nah, me either.