Comments on: Why I Turned Down a Year in Asia for Bethlehem, PA

By: Brett Stuckel

Brett Stuckel — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:32:32 +0000

@Chris: It’s like a big fish that keeps biting the bait but breaking the line…but it’s still swimming around down there and we’re gonna haul that sucker in soon…soon…

@Richard: Thanks!

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:17:41 +0000

“Please, don’t get me wrong. It’s great to be drunk on a travel plan. Just make sure you know why you picked up the bottle.”

I love this. It sums up the idea so well, and I hope the decision works out well. That’s the great thing about decisions, they can always be made and remade as the moments change.

By: chris.

chris. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:23:28 +0000

great post brett! i’ve found myself stationary for a longer amount of time than i thought as well. i’ve been trying to write something about that for a while. if i do i’ll be sure to shoot a link to this post. i live in a small town and have been planning to leave at various intervals for the last year. my coworkers and friends are always enthusiastic about my plans and don’t seem surprised when i say, “well, looks like i’ll stay a few more months.” i think this is because they are so used to putting off something like that in their own lives, so that my plan to travel becomes this distant dream that won’t make it into reality. this doesn’t go for everyone, of course, but that’s the feeling i often get.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:20:11 +0000

Friends who judge you for choices you make that don’t affect them can fuck off. Personally, I’ve yet to see a correlation between the depth of a person’s character and the number of places they’ve been … you’re totally right about travel just to run away. Too many 20-something nitwits already think they’re doing something important by spreading their parents’ money around in the Third World. Why join them?

By: Brett Stuckel

Brett Stuckel — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:27:54 +0000

Hey Katie,

Glad you made the decision that you felt was right…I’m sure that some sort of ticket is waiting for you not too far down the road. Thanks for stopping by.

-Brett

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:11:47 +0000

Great article, i’ve been in a similar experience where i had the opportunity with two close friends to teach English abroad in the same school in S Korea. I was the only one out of the three to turn it down for similar reasons. I wanted to finish what i had started in the city I had recently moved to and was just starting to get established as an artist in. I had the need to feel a part of something bigger here at home and be connected. The connections I was making with my friends, and family i.e. sisters and brother specifically, since being abroad had made us closer. Although there are times I want to pick up and sign the contract and take back that ticket, especially with the current economy, I’m glad I’ve come across individuals like you and blogs like this, so thank you!