i'm on a road, so i need a car

While talking to Rachelle tonight, she asked me a seemingly simple question, "Why are you here?"

I paused for a moment to think. I went over all of the responses I could give her. I could have said I wanted to see Canada, to learn french, to meet new people. I could have said I wanted to learn about myself, learn about Canada, discover new career opportunities. Then I realized how common these answers were, and how I'd never really verbalized my "Katima-intentions", in my own words, before.

So, I told her something like this...

My first goal isn't to learn french, or to live in new situations, or to figure out what I want to do with my life. I don't expect to become an environmentalist, or a volunteer-addict. I don't expect to come out of Katimavik knowing exactly what I want to do, with a concrete plan on how to get there. What I want from Katimavik is a new perspective on life; an internal drive to go out and get what I want with this precious time on earth I've been given. What I want from Katimavik is the willpower and confidence to rely on myself, to be self-serving. What I would like to gain from Katimavik is the ability to be comfortable with not knowing what comes next, the ability to look at the bigger picture, and be OK if something does not go as planned. Katimavik has already sparked my desire for adventure, and inspired the risk-taker in me to take the leaps I wouldn't have taken, had I chosen university instead. That, in itself, is already a huge accomplishment.