I like people. I much prefer to do things with people. Sometimes it's good to go do things on my own because then I can actually meet people. But other times, I want someone I have some sort of shared history with which to do things. I think that's called friendship. But I'm discovering that I'm a nomad. I have wanderlust. I like to do new things and go new places and meet new people. Historically, I've had difficulty finding friends who were willing to wander with me.
I found some of them on the Trail. And although I'm not sure if I've made any truly long term friendships on the Trail, I learned that there are others who think like me. Or at least, like me in that wandering sort of way. They are out there. Not sure they are here, specifically. But they are somewhere. If the Trail gave me anything... it gave me hope that I'm not just some anomaly in the universe. The anomaly being someone who desperately wants a deep group of friends who also wander about the planet.
Acorn, a fellow AT hiker (and has hiked 1000's of miles since then) told me that "I was the happiest when I was in a hostel." So true. I love being in that communal place with so many different people who all share at least the same commonality of hiking North.
One of the reasons I went to the Trail was to find a "home." I thought that was sort of counter-intuitive at the time because it doesn't make any sense to become homeless and wander 2000 miles in search of a home (hmmm, I guess I should be reminded of Abraham and Ur). But now I see that I really was searching for that group of people who also loved to travel yet stay connected.
So, as I continue to hike the trail of life, I'm still looking for that elusive thing called "home." I've tried a couple of things so far, and it hasn't been quite right. Not entirely wrong, but... it needs to be tweaked. So I will keep searching. And tweaking. And hiking.
A nomadic home. Somewhere. But hopefully not alone.
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