Hi Lexie, cool to have you on Steemit. I read your post and it is impressive to travel that much on your own when you are 19.
You know, that you are very privileged to be able to do this. I think setting a record should be in no way the purpose of such a journey, for me it communicates the wrong message.. How do you want to use your experiences to make the world a better place? If everybody would do what you are doing, the world would be a much worse place.
Your whole post, mirrors exactly what people think about millenials.
"It’s better to live a short life chasing your dream than a long life filled with missed opportunities and regrets."
How would you help anyone, if you would die attempting this "record", your parents would be devastated and you clearly would not be able to use your experiences to make the world a better place.
I do not see anyone profiting from that whole journey apart from you -
which is ok.
But I really do not see the reason why I should support somebody flying around the globe, trying to break a totally silly record. Just my two cents..
@geniusloci I really appreciate your perspective and feedback. I am very aware that I am an incredibly privileged individual because I have witnessed so much inequality during my travels. I have been traveling since before I can remember, its the way I was raised. Setting this record has only been my goal for the past 6 months, to be completely honest... When I graduated college I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. All I have ever known was that I want to experience as much of the world as possible and use the knowledge I have gained to benefit society. I then asked myself what I can do to continue to live my best life and also inspire/enact others to do the same. The purpose of my journey is not solely to break a world record, it is to learn about the political and social condition of every country in the world in order to make a highly educated assessment about how to change it for the better.
I am a millennial who will use my life experiences from around the world to teach others and spread awareness about the global issues I have witnessed first hand. These topics span from the dysfunctional state of international adoption processes to the need for comprehensive health education to women in developing countries.
I strongly disagree that if other people traveled and experienced cultures vastly different from their own that the world would be a worse place. A major reason why we are so disconnected with the other 8 billion people living on this planet is because we don't know anything about each other, so why would we care about their living conditions? The change in perspective traveling brings not only makes you appreciate what you already have, it makes you more empathetic to others when you see for yourself what others live without and may even motivate you to make a difference in their lives.
Beyond the personal achievement aspect of this record, what I have to say will benefit the global community. I will share with others lessons I've learned while traveling in countries they probably have never even heard of but are in need of the most help. I will personally demonstrate how interconnected our planet has become by sharing the stories of the real people and how their living conditions could be improved. The first step of enacting global change is becoming aware of the issues then creating a solution as a conscious community.
The reason you should support my mission is because I am willing to put my life on the line in order to gain necessary knowledge about the least known areas of the world in order to improve the human condition to the best of my ability. Before you decide that someone's life goal is silly, you should consider the profound effect that someone whose mission in life is to improve the world can have.
Hey there @lexiealford ! awesome that you are reading the comments and that you are taking the time to answer my questions!
My point is, that everyone with an internet connection can learn about the social and political problems of the world.
What I ment by "the world would be a much worse place" is that people on our planet tend to move too much. The pollution of moving, escpecially flying, is putting incredible pressure on our environement - so if every person would move in the same ways as you do, the world would much likely be worse.
So many maniacs these days are obsessed with settings records, becoming the best here, climbing the highest there - maybe, making an average, concious life the new ideal would be a nice change for once. Maybe showing children that you do not need to put your life on the line and set records to lead a happy and fulfilled life would be an interesting way to look at things? Would you recommend people to put their lifes on the line?
A lot of western people dont even care about the homeless people in their country, do you think they do not care about the linving conditions of half of africa because they never heard of it? Do you think lack of knowledge is the reason?
I did not mean to offend you and I did consider the effects of your mission. I think you as a person will benefit greatly from all the experiences you have made and I really hope that you will be able to use it for the global change we desperatly need. But I strongly believe that people do not need to travel more around the world in order to understand its problems and find solutions.
I do not think that your life goal is silly at all! I consider the act of breaking a record itself to be silly. From what I read, you are determined to change the world in a positive way which is awesome!
This being said, if Nepal is still on your list, lets meet for a coffee in Kathmandu and discuss it further!
love&light
@geniusloci No offense taken! This has actually been my favorite discussion on Steemit thus far because it challenges me and forces me to answer questions that people do not usually ask so thank you for this opportunity to grow.
I see where you are coming from and I agree with most of what you are saying. Truthfully I am going to be working on finding the answers to the questions you posed for a while. Personally, I will be looking into the different way to offset my carbon footprint throughout my mission. I realize that pollution is a major global issue and flying is making the situation worse... There are many pros and cons to this debate with travel that I plan on formally addressing in the future.
As far as the example I would like to set for children, I would like to focus more on the aspect of being able to achieve anything you set your mind to, regardless of your age/gender; rather than encouraging them to live an 'extreme' lifestyle.
On the subject of westerners caring about impoverished countries: obviously having access to the internet and witnessing homeless people in their own country is not having an impact on these people in a way that motivates them to improve these issues. I aim to become a social influencer. Someone to act as a role model demonstrating the impact one person who wants to make a difference can have on society. I want to start a new trend showing that global consciousness is 'in'. I want to encourage people to strive to do something greater than themselves and benefit people in need.
Thank you for this great debate, I took a lot away from it. I will be in Kathmandu for a few days in January and would love to get some coffee! Meeting someone that knows the area is always helpful. Hope to see you soon!
Hey there @lexiealford! Thank you for the detailed answer! I will be in Kathmandu in january and would be happy to show you around, I know it quite well by now! How cool would that be! I am quite active on Steemit, link me in a comment when you know where and when you will be! Would be happy to help with accomodation etc. as well. We should make this happen. Wow, see you soon ;)