I was probably 11 or 12 years old the first time I saw a map of my hometown. And I had this rush of excitement when I understood for the first time that those red and blue squiggly lines were the roads and rivers around my house. Even now, every time I look at a map, my whole world opens up. I see the connections between where I am and everything else, and I suddenly I feel both grounded and ready for adventure at the same time.
My love of maps probably has something do with why I worked for National Geographic for more than a decade. And It also explains why I’m both excited and scared about the next stage of my life.
Because, for the journey I’m on, there are no roadmaps.
“Midway in the journey of our life
I came to myself in a dark wood,
for the straightforward path had been lost. ”