As I sit in the small Midwestern town of my youth, I reflect on a journey that will soon take place. On August 20, I fly to London to wander Europe. I currently have a one way ticket, guide books and a meager amount of savings to support my adventure. I am attempting to prepare for every possibility without drowning unforeseen diversions. Before I explore the details of my adventure, I wanted to provide a background to the reader.
About the Traveler
My name is Nic Hagemann and I am a teacher. This is the simplest way to summarize my history and the persona that I have attempted to develop. From my earliest memories, I have always sought the opportunity to learn or experience something and convey it to others. Children usually are the most receptive or coerced audience but I also enjoy involving adults in my excitement.
Scouting and summer camps allowed me to begin teaching when I was too young to be a professional. College brought more alternative education programs and my first career in education. I served as the manager of the NAU Challenge Course from January of 2005 until December of 2010. With the beginning of 2012, I made my first attempt to return to the life of a full time student. Two rejection letters, one crashed truck and under the burden of reality, I took a diversion back into the professional world. In August of 2012, I poured myself out to 22 (with a collection of incoming and outgoing students) 3rd graders. (If you are seeking a more in-depth biography of past work experiences, I suggest viewing my resume website, Nicholas Hagemann )
An Idea for Discovery
This personal timeline concludes with my current decision to begin the adventure that will be the focus of this travel log. The reasons for my departure are complicated have not completely revealed themselves to me. The best that I can interpret, I have the following reasons for this adventure.
In my life I have read biographies of great minds and thinkers. A similarity that I often see in their lives is a shared experience of breaking down. At a critical moment, they collapse into a seclusion that allows them to deconstruct their thoughts and purpose. In the rebuilding of their ideas they find the transformation from reflection to action. A path of knowing begins to appear.
If you can forgive my delusions of greatness, I am hoping that this trip will be my deconstruction. I am hoping that travels in a foreign land with an immense history will allow me to reflect on all that I know or hope to know. I will be seeking out some of the common tourist experiences but also examining a themes that I hope to carry into my future studies as a doctoral candidate. Democracy, social justice, secular education and evolution will be discussed often in this blog.
The selfishness of freedom is another reason for my departure. Education is a service profession. As a teacher, I seek to serve the learner and my co-workers. This trip is a service project for myself. I hope that I can serve my needs to think, explore and learn in a unique land. It is hard for me to accept and acknowledge this need to be selfish. When my friends and family have questioned my decision to travel without a set timeline to a foreign land, I understand their concern and feelings of rejection that they feel in my leaving. I cherish the relationships that I have built but need an opportunity to build a greater sense of self. All of my actions have and will be influenced by the relationships of my past and will serve as the basis for interpretation. (I hope this blog will help to provide incite that can preserve and reconnect the relationships of my past with my current experience.)
My final reflection of meaning on this trip is centered on the history and culture of Europe. It can not be denied that Europe has been the center for the arts for the majority of written history. I will seeking to discover if I have the ability to be an artist. I will not be taking up painting, sculpture or architecture in the traditional sense. Instead, I will be trying to interpret the history and knowledge of the past into an understandable narrative that conveys a purpose for existence, necessity of equality and a path for action.
Will You Join Me?
It is because of the logic puzzle above that I offer you a call to reflection. I want you to join me as I stumble, bumble and stride through the unknown of a foreign land. I am calling you to be an active member or a passive member to this project of mine. If you feel the desire to reflect with me through comments and text, I will do my best to respectfully respond with my experience. If reflection leaves you as a silent reader, I will cherish that contribution as well. Either way, welcome!
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