When I first read this month’s topic, I knew right away that I had to participate in this rendition of the Indieweb Carnival. Memories of volunteer Work I was lucky enough to help with in Šumava and of a few very nice bike rides came up immediately and filled me with an adventurous spirit! Then, however, I started thinking about what I’d actually write and immediately hit a roadblock. 😬
Between being very motivated and at the same time unable to find a starting point, I decided to actually read the introductory post, took some notes and figured something out for you (whoever you are, reading this) to enjoy. I hope you will!
So thank you, Pablo for choosing this lovely topic and the helpful introductory post! Let’s get to it.
“Adventure” is…
Right away, a small sidenote on how to read this text:
One activity I particularly enjoy doing online, especially with friends, is to treat the internet as a kind of chose your own adventure book (I don’t know if this counts as a pun, but it’s definitely intended) and just click through link after link. I thought I’d use the opportunity to give you a small taste of what that feels like with this post, so I tried to pack this one with links. In addition, please feel free to read the boxes below in any order you like and follow the links to the other ones as you see fit! Have fun!
The thing that struck a chord with me in Pablos post is that he approached the concept of adventures from a few different perspectives. This reminded me of a concept I have had stuck in my mind ever since I heard of it: Family resemblance. In short, it’s the idea that there are some things, like the concept of a “game” for example, which do not have a clear-cut definition but rather describe a family of disjoint but partially overlapping concepts. Somehow this idea tingles the pattern seeking part of my brain and I believe it might help me towards giving you a definition of what “adventure” means to me. So here goes.
To me, “adventure” is…
… a feeling
The feeling “adventure” is rather nice in my opinion. I think it’s one way to feel truly free. When I think about “adventure” it makes me feel electric; a promise of change gives me the drive to want to go out and do stuff. It usually also comes with a sense of yearning, sometimes for some goal, but often for the future adventure itself. Below, I’ll list a few situations I remember feeling this peculiar feeling:
- Taking the Autobahn on my first ever long trip alone, “This is how it goes” by Billy Talent blasting from my stereo while my steering wheel was sizzling in the hot sunshine. I was on my way to my first ever big festival.
- Sitting in a stuffy primary school class just before summer or spring holiday and almost tasting the crisp air outside while day-dreaming about going to the public pool or exploring parts of my home town or the surrounding fields that I’m not entirely sure I didn’t make up…
- Sitting inside, looking out and losing myself in the endless widths of the bright blue sky and really wanting to ride my bicycle.
… an activity
Lots of activities can count as an adventure. Taking walks, hiking, riding a bike etc. While writing this, I seem to associate mostly movement-based activities with the term “adventure”. I think that might be due to seeing new things being an integral part in my conception of adventure as an activity. What better way is there to see new stuff then to move towards something unknown?
These types of activities usually bring some amount of logistical challenges with them. They have to be (somewhat) prepared, and depending on the length of the journey, a good amount of gear has to be taken along the way. In my mind, this plays a big role in making adventures a difficult undertaking that not everyone is able to pursue!
… a privilege
I do realize that I speak about adventures as someone who, more often than not, is able to chose to go outside my comfort zone and search for novel and sometimes unexpected experiences. I can have these nice experiences and feelings while enjoying exciting things and after that go back to my warm, comfortable and safe home. For a lot of people the prospect of not knowing what lies around the corner is a source of fear rather than thrill.
On the other hand, the logistical and time-costs expended for, at it’s most trivial, my enjoyment are not possible to bear for a majority of people who might just be able to keep a safe home but can’t afford to “break out” and go on an adventure.
I try to always keep this in mind – at the very least to minimize my just blindly burning resources to chase a fleeting feeling or whimsical idea.
… a genre
Adventure novel, adventure film, adventure show, adventure game… I assume you have encountered one or the other before. The term “adventure” seems an apt (enough) description for a wide variety of pieces of media, across media type, setting or target audience. One of the adventure stories that has been widely adapted is, of course “The Lord of the Rings”. The German poster for the lesser known 1978 movie adaptations nicely represents, at least to me, a sense of adventuring together with others:
Another genre I personally connect with adventures is “coming of age” or, maybe a little more accurately it’s German cousin, the “Entwicklungsroman”, that more generally describes a novel that is concerned with a deep change in the personality of its protagonist.
… an ascription
Sometimes adventure is thrust upon you. You intended to do something that should have been easy, but it turned out to be – sometimes needlessly – very hard. Riding a train in Germany and nearing mental collapse as a short commute turns into a hours-long involuntary sauna; a short grocery trip that results in multiple changes of dinner plans and the need for an evening of recovery; a trip to the bathroom that… I think I’ll spare you the details. When stuff that is supposed to be boring and predictable turns into an adventure, it looks less like a privilege and more like an annoyance or even a source of stress or danger.
… a commitment
Whenever you intend to go on an adventure, you at the very least commit to the goal you set out. But if you go with someone else, be it one other person or many, friends or strangers – you also commit to go through whatever happens together and to aid each other in this experience, even if it is sometimes straining. This is a regular theme in media whose genre is “adventure”, just like The Fellowship of the Ring, for example.
One of the many examples that come to mind is the very slow-burning adventure of engaging in climate action and local politics with whomever joined the cause. The mutual commitment and trust feels like a solid rock to stand on, which is a relief in the wavering grounds of engaging with these big topics.
In my experience, this commitment to your fellow adventurers is also the foundation of change in interpersonal relationships through adventure, which can be a very beautiful thing!
… a vehicle of change
I believe each adventure we experience, whether planned or not, can aid us in changing ourselves or our environment. Having worked in nature on some restoration sites, for example, I have learned to identify some bird songs and plants, making my perception of my surroundings more vivid and colourful. On the flip side, any change can feel like an adventure in its own right. Either way, I think the mental load of working through change can be a major source of strain during an adventure, adding to the work required, when engaging in adventurous activities. Still, I hold on to the hope that all the hard work will pay off in the end, and every one of us will end up with positive change brought about by our multitudes of adventures. There are so, so many things that need changing, let’s band together and start doing exactly that!
On yet another note, spring and autumn are the times of change in nature. Since things like the length of the day and the changing temperature and scenery affect us too, these seasons are also times of change in our lives (except for everyone living close to the equator I suppose 😉). That is why I think April is a very nice time to have an Indieweb Carnival under this topic!
conclusion
Finally, all I can do is hope I’ve given you some insight into what “adventure” means to me. I hope it is motivating in some way or the other and makes you feel the spirit of adventure at least as much as the prompt did for me. Go out (or inside) and explore. Stay safe and have fun!