The absurdity of my socks
“Your trip hinges on socks.”
These are the words I have written, in large, underlined letters at the top of a list called “lessons learned.” I wrote this list on the last page of the journal I kept last summer while backpacking through Europe (with distractingly aching feet). This list was to help me prepare for my next adventure.
My next adventure – the Walton Global Sustainability Studies Program in Brazil this summer – is immanent, and I have six sets of high-quality running socks sitting on my dresser with a box of Clif bars, a leak-proof toiletry set and a travel pillow. These things are on their way to a larger pile of clothes and books that will all eventually find their way into my backpack, onto a plane and to Brazil. Although I would have expected this stack of supplies serve as a constant reminder of the coming trip, more than anything else, it is just a pile of things, disconnected from both the present and the travel at hand.