Perception

51 Dreams Accomplished on My Way to 101 Dreams Come True

I thought I had packed well for my trip through Oregon and then up to Vancouver. I had shorts and t-shirts along with a couple of fleeces for camping. I had my fancy city clothing. I even remembered a rain jacket.

Now that I've reached a few of my destinations I've realized that living in California has changed my perception of weather. For seven years, I've experienced brutal heat during the day without seeing a rain cloud for up to seven months. During the "winter" in California, I wear light jackets and I believe that warm spring weather starts the beginning of March. I have no concept that when I leave the state I should bring a jacket for cool nights during the summers months or that I would need long underwear to keep me warm while camping in the mountains.

While camping by a lake in Oregon, as I swung in my hammock wrapped in two fleeces, I thought about how where I live has changed how I think about the world.

When I lived in New England my life flowed with the seasons. I wore sweaters in the fall when the leaves changed and the air smelled like apples. I remembered to bring rain gear when I went camping in the summer and brought warm clothing for the nights. I knew the flowers and leaves didn't bud till mid-May, and I was always dressed like an Eskimo in winter. I saw the world through this vision of life. I would've never considered going to Europe in the middle of March since I knew the weather could possibly be horrendous. Yet, this year it never crossed my mind until after I booked my trip that the weather would be anything but beautiful.

As the sun set, and I stared at the Milky Way, I thought about my journey of making my dreams come true. There was a time when I believed that dreams were meant for other people. I came from a background of financial hardship. My family didn't dream of traveling the world, they worked hard just to make ends meet. The thought that one day I would see Paris was the furthest I would allow my mind to wander.

On the first night of my trip, I was walking through the campground at Crater Lake trying to find a hiking trail. I stopped to ask directions and when the woman looked at me to answer, I realized she was a friend from Massachusetts I hadn't seen in seven years. I spent two days camping with her and her husband as they showed me areas of Oregon I wouldn't have seen. When we separated, they invited me to their home when I drive back to California. She said to me, "Things like this just never happen."

"They do to me," I replied. I realized that since taking this journey I've begun to expect that miracles will happen - that my dreams will come to me in unexpected ways and with them it will bring people and experiences that I didn't even know I wanted or needed. My perception is changing.

I realized that this is the reason I've decided to make this journey public. I want to change the perception people have about life. Because what if we did believe that the world is a sunny, warm place where dreams are meant to come true? If I can do this, if I can complete my life-list, then maybe others will believe it too.