Enjoying the journey

Aw traveling...
On my way out of town, I have that weird feeling when going away for a while.
I have those questions, ¨am I really going somewhere?  Is there and adventure awaiting me?  If so, what kind?¨
I didn´t talk about this trip much because I just didn´t plan a ton.  I wasn´t so nervous, but more hesitant not knowing exactly what would happen.  When I feel that way, I know it will work out, but I tend not to talk about it.
So, without fail, the adventure begins.  To me, it really starts when I meet people along the way who inspire me in some way.
On my layover in Chicago, I joined the thick crowd of people surrounding the charging station.  Nothing like a grouping of electric outlets to bring people together.  Our modern well.
I had to ask someone to plug my phone in for me.  I couldn´t reach without having to squeeze between people.  ¨hey, will you charge me? uh, will you plug me in?¨-fun for me sometimes to make a situation more weird.  The guy I asked took one peek at my classy bike pannier¨luggage¨ and thus started the conversation.  Fellow bike tourers, you know how that goes.
He wanted to know all about bike touring.  He had made his own panniers out of small trashcans and explored on his own bit, he told me.  He wanted to explore and live, he wanted to be young and enjoy it.
 He was on his way to Poland to visit his grandparents and get away.
A senior at UNC in computer science, he just found out that he had to do another semester in order to graduate.   He was sick of it.  He said he needed a break.  He wanted to ¨take advantage of being young¨.  If he had only studied abroad, it all could have happened differently.
So, this trip, for him, starts a semester off.  He looks for both inspiration and acceptance (his parents are pissed).  I hoped that whatever he seeks to learn, my words were enough to help him have some direction.  His eyes were full of questions as he seemed to be trying to pick them out slowly, one by one.  There was time for a few more topics and stories, as we traveled into line, waiting to board the plane.
We separated when finding seats and I wished him a nice flight. 
Meeting people like him are the reason traveling is just so exciting. 
Without fail, the adventure begins.