Pinocchio

By hugging and saying goodbye to my dad at the security line in the San Francisco airport, I take my last step towards total commitment to my adventure. The line is short and soon I am walking towards my gate. After reconfirming the time, I spend my last twenty minutes in a bar drinking a hefty Irish whiskey and a glass of water. I stare blankly at the little league world series being played on the television, but my mind is elsewhere. The alcohol begins to slow it down and I reflect on my calmness. I am ready. At least significantly more read than any moment up to this. With each goodbye to my friends and family, another string is cut until the final one is severed outside this security point. I am no longer the puppet, but the real boy.
I still stew, at this moment, in not knowing what to expect from the adventure as a whole or even its next step. The adventure ahead is both the cause and effect of my freedom. I planned the trip in order to feel free and I will only feel so by undertaking it. And now I sit, eight hours out of San Francisco and still four hours from my first stop- Beijing, China.

-Excerpt from my travel journal August 22 2006