Today, the sentencing phase of the Boston Marathon bombing trial begins, and prosecutors will ask the jury to decide the fate of convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Also today, I’m reminded that the world is not a scary place.
On April 15th, 2013, two bombs exploded in the city of Boston, killing 3 and wounding 264 more. I had returned home just 3 days earlier after months of travel through South and Central America filming Between The Peaks, and heard the news of these horrific acts over the radio while driving up to Canada.
I was in disbelief. Total shock. As was the entire city and country for that matter. Many of my friends lived within blocks of where the bombs went off and so the calls and text messages that commenced were frantic. Thankfully, they were all ok.
With the news reports continuing to buzz over the FM static, which cut in and out as my girlfriend, her skating partner, and I swerved through New Hampshire’s mountain roads, I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing.
When I told people about the idea of Between The Peaks, some were inspired, amazed, and very encouraging, but most called me crazy. They couldn’t understand why I would willingly put myself in such danger – traveling to third world countries, where drug related violence was running rampant, with very little money, a sleeping bag, and a dream.
Certainly I was going to get robbed, kidnapped, or murdered!
Well as it turned out, I met some of the nicest people in the world and had some of the best times of my life in those third world countries. And the worst thing that happened, happened only days after returning to the United States, in my very own city.
The lesson here is that senseless violence can happen anywhere and everywhere. There are horribly deranged, relentlessly immoral people all around the world. But they are the minority. The world as a whole is a wonderful place to explore, with kind, generous, welcoming cultures in every nook and cranny of this big blue sphere.
We’re all aware that the media is sensational. They love to show us the bad things that happen around the world because no one would tune in to watch little children in El Salvador smiling and laughing as they play on a see-saw. Well, some might, but the network surely wouldn’t sell as many ads during that spot.
Negativity is drama and drama sells. We know it, but we still fall victim to it. Far too many people don’t have, or won’t take, the opportunity to travel often. And when you sit in your bubble of comfort and routine, watching bomb after bomb explode around the world, you might begin to think the world is a scary place.
It’s not. And we mustn’t let ourselves be influenced to believe that.
In Honduras, Ethan, Ryan, and I hitch-hiked our way to “the murder capital of the world,” San Pedro Sula. What happened there? Some nice guys bought three bearded gringos a few juicy mangos, and another helped us find a store that sold post cards so we could write to all of our film backers as promised on IndieGoGo. Honduras ended up being my favorite Central American country!
The day before we were supposed to head to Cusco, Peru, we received a STEP travel warning telling us that Americans should not travel to Cusco. You might once again call us crazy, but we decided to go anyway. We couldn’t be that close to Machu Picchu without seeing it!
There, we learned the story behind the travel warning. A couple of Americans drunkenly trespassed on some farm land while hiking off of the Inca Trail and they got beat up for it. Was that a deserved punishment? No, probably not. But you’re more likely to get into trouble when you do dumb drunken things, traveling or not traveling. So, be respectful of where you are, and travel smarter by traveling quieter.
There’s one demographic that’s usually just a bit more scared. Or maybe not scared, but reserved. Solo women travelers. The world can be a bit overwhelming and as a pretty little lady, it’s frightening to think about going out in it on your own. Right? Well truthfully, the world is safe for you too.
I’ve crossed paths with girls backpacking Europe on their own, hitch-hiking New Zealand on their own, and climbing some of the world’s biggest mountains on their own. The women that are out there going for it, and facing those fears of solo travel, are not the crazy ones. They’re the brave ones.
The bold empowered confident women that will make this world a better place. Travel makes you stronger. And it motivates men and women alike. You just have to get up and go.
I received an email from a girl, Paulene from the Philippines, just a few days ago stating that in three weeks she would be flying alone to Cambodia and Thailand. And that most people were calling her crazy for doing the trip, as a female, by herself. But she had just stumbled across Between The Peaks –
“In the last month that I’ve planned this cultural retreat, too many people have told me that I was crazy for doing this by myself, especially with my being female. It gets to me, but this documentary was the perfect reassurance that I shouldn’t let it. I especially loved it when you said “We’ve been so many places now, and met the most amazing people. What if we had listened to everyone who called us crazy?”‘ – Paulene de los Reyes
Tonight I hop on a plane to Iceland, and then from there, Paris. Oh that’s right, Paris recently had bombings too. Should that stop me or you from going? No. Because we truly know now, it can happen anywhere.
When the ruling comes down, Tsarnaev may get the death penalty. But you and I – we get to live. We have the responsibility to not let people like him, and distorted media coverage, blind us from seeing all the wonders of our world.
I’d rather not live in fear of the minority. I want to seize every opportunity to explore, and find the good in people and places around the world. Because yes, the good is out there waiting to be found.
And yes, it’s safe to come out and play.
