Graduate school

​

Here's a familiar first-day-of-class intro: "Welcome to CLASS237A: Principles of Something or Other. If that is not the course in which you enrolled, you are in the wrong place." I always chuckled at this, but also sincerely appreciated the announcement. Sure, it was embarrassing for those mistaken students, but at least the professor was acknowledging the difficulties of developing skills such as time management and organization. So, I feel that I am obligated to start this course in a similar fashion: 

​

Hello students, I am Professor Connor Hannon, and this is Graduate School. I am happy to assure you that you are in exactly the right place!

​

This course will consist of a series of lessons based on the travels of me and my future wife, Erin. These lessons, similar to many you've taken previously, should convey knowledge and unique experiences to you, the reader, while also inspiring you to pursue further research on the topic at hand. There are, you'll be delighted to learn, no exams and no grades; rather, your challenge will be to take the lessons provided, and use them as the raw materials to sculpt your own travel masterpieces. 

​

Now, I will not pretend to be an omniscient authority figure with all the answers. It is true, I have insights that I feel should be shared with everyone who wants to hear them, and therein lies the motivation for Graduate School. Additionally, when studying any field, it is important to learn about the revolutionaries that paved the way, and many of them will be mentioned in my lessons or suggested study material. However, my travel practices and those of the experts are almost inconsequential, because travel is a highly personalized art form that does not lend itself to mastery. Even the most well-traveled have infinitely more Earth (lands, peoples, cultures) to explore. 

​

Therefore, my goals for Graduate School are to present my experiences at face value, and in a way that is always engaging and authentic. I hope to engage you by bringing you along for the ride as my peers in travel, which is what you always will be - I will never lecture. I hope to be authentic by conjuring specific sentiments I was feeling in the moment. If I thought a restaurant was pretentious, you'll know about it. If I bawled my eyes out in a Scottish B&B (I did), you'll read about that, too. Plus, all the pictures you'll see on the site were taken by me or by Erin, and - unless Erin secretly gets a hold of them - are completely unedited. Full transparency is my policy...it makes for the most interesting material. 

​

Ideally, these lessons, taken as a body of work, will form the guiding principles for Graduate School. The name has several meanings for me. On one hand, it should be a deterrent for those wishing to use these lessons as a justification to eschew formal education; in fact, the more you read and learn about the many intricacies of the world, the more the world will reveal itself to you during your travels. Secondly, I like the name Graduate School because, to me, travel is not a hobby or a job, but indeed it is a form of higher education when pursued with an open mind. Perhaps the best part of this Graduate School is that tuition is free, there are no expensive textbooks and no need to apply. Your lessons are always compatible with your schedule, and there will be no boring lectures. 

​

Without further delay, let's begin Lesson One. It's not very long, but it's first for a reason: 

​

I wish I could say there was a singular moment of clarity; a life-changing, lightswitch-flipping, epiphany. The kind where the camera zooms in, my eyes get wide and I exclaim to no one, "That's it!" Alas, that's not what happened. 

​

Honesty is something that I'm always going to give you in this forum. So here's the truth: I still don't know if I'm approaching this information or you, the audience, in the right way. I know that I have experiences that need sharing, if only to encourage one normal, everyday person out there, like me, that it is possible to go out and see what this world has to offer. 

​

You see, I graduated college in the spring of 2016, and around that time I was asking myself a question that I know surfaces for many people in their 20s: "What is my purpose in life?" At the time, I could certainly give a few examples of what my purpose was not. My purpose was not to be a doctor: I had taken all my pre-med courses, but decided that medical school was too huge an investment (mostly in minutes and seconds) and required sacrificing too many other aspects of my life. My purpose was not to be a bartender: I was a server and bartender while I was in school and continued to do so after graduation. I worked for a great company, made good money and I didn't hate it. Nevertheless, I had higher aspirations...I just had to figure out what those were. 

​

Unfortunately, the harder I tried to answer "What is my purpose?" the farther away the solution seemed to fade. In the meantime, one of the perks of being a bartender at a company that values you is that your schedule is very flexible. Hence, I, along with Erin, traveled quite a bit. Those adventures will be detailed in future lessons, but throughout those travels, I had been transformed. Again, this wasn't instant; rather, it was as if I was wearing glasses with the wrong prescription until my eyes slowly adjusted. 

​

Consequently, after returning home from another Christmas of being peppered with umpteen versions of "What are you doing with your life?" I felt like I was ready to accurately and responsibly articulate my purpose, if only to myself and Erin. Keep in mind, in this lesson and the ones to follow, I will offer many opinions. These are not meant to be portrayed as absolute truths, nor will I be offended if you disagree with them. My goal is merely to give you the perspective from my mind's eye, and hopefully, motivate you to create your own experiences so that you may share your unique perspective with others. This is what I shared with Erin that day, which I am thrilled to share with you now: 

​

Purposeful, observant, open-minded travel will change you for the better, whether it is a 30-minute stroll or a 30-hour flight. What other purpose could we have on this Earth than to explore its beauty and the beauty of its inhabitants to the greatest extent that we are able? Travel is not just a luxury for the rich and retired; travel is the way to enlightenment and fulfillment in life. 

​