A Letter to the Friends Who Changed My Life on the Far Side of the World
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
17 years ago…
66C.
Every journey, every adventure, has a beginning. That was where mine started.
As I settled into my seat on that Quantas Boeing 747, taking it all in as we taxied across the tarmac to the runway at Los Angeles International Airport late on a June night in 2009, I can’t help but reflect now, 17 years later, on how I had reached the precipice of a life-changing experience that has shaped me in more ways than most will ever know.
The runway was clear, the engines roared to life, and I was lifted off to a place that was a world away from my small, rural hometown of Woodruff, South Carolina. To my left and right, two city boys from New Jersey. In the seats around us were seven others who, unbeknownst to me at the time, would impact my life in far greater ways than I could have possibly imagined. We soared off into the night, 10 uncertain college kids full of a homogenous mixture of anxiety and wanderlust. Not knowing what the next five weeks would bring, we climbed into the sky on a leap of faith, but none more than I.
Woodruff is exactly 10,035 miles from Kingston-on-Murray in rural South Australia’s Riverland. In less than 20 hours, that’s where we would be. My journey there, however, is perhaps one of the more unlikely in the annals of travel.
Growing up, I had shown absolutely no propensity to leave the cocoon that was my hometown, much less to take the initiative to send myself to the far side of the globe. To tell the absolute truth, I was scared. I was scared of what the world might hold for a socially awkward, self-conscious college student who had a hard enough time talking to girls, much less spending 30 days in a foreign country with nine other people I didn’t know from Adam. Time, however, changes a person, I suppose, and when opportunity arrives, you had best push open the door before it gets slammed in your face.
The short version is, I was made aware of an opportunity to volunteer abroad through my college, and my interest was piqued. Why not? What could it hurt? Again, without mincing words, and after talking it over with my parents, I signed up to spend a month of my summer in Australia. What was I thinking? I had to be nuts!
As surprised as I was at myself, my parents, I’m sure, were about one shock short of flabbergasted.
Anyway….
The rest of these words I address to the nine of you who changed my life, who gave me confidence, and who, by all accounts, may have saved me from an existence that I cannot fathom in hindsight.
“When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you’ll understand just why you came this way.”
The song made famous by Crosby, Stills, and Nash was prophetic, wasn’t it? Do you remember those nights? I remember. I remember sitting under the stars at Banrock Station in Kingston-on-Murray. I remember the campfires, the shooting stars of which there were literally hundreds, and yes, I remember seeing the Southern Cross for the first time.
Now I understand why I came that way. It was to share the moment with you, and you with me, and for my life to be immeasurably impacted in ways you will never know.
I remember our last two weeks following the conclusion of our volunteer work, traversing up Australia’s east coast. From whitewater rafting, scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, swimming, and enjoying your company, I remember the fear and doubt melting away into the recesses of the new world, the wide-open world that I was now a part of.
Your acceptance, love, and companionship coaxed me out of a shell that had protected me to my own detriment for the first 24 years of my life. All it took was traveling over 10,000 miles from home with nine of you, who became my family, to make it happen.
And make no mistake, to this day, 17 years later, you are still my family.
Over the years, many things have changed. Yes, some of us have drifted further apart than we had vowed to let happen. Some of us are as close as we have always been since the day we met. Two of you were groomsmen in my wedding. All of you will always be near to my heart.
I have embarked on many adventures since then. I have fulfilled a promise I made to myself that you gave me the courage to keep. I have traveled the world. I have seen myself and human existence in a broader scope. It was you who allowed me to do that. You didn’t know it then, but unequivocally and for the record, I state it now.
Chris, Ian, Samantha, Nicole, Tera, Andrea, Cassie, Tamberlyn, and Jennifer, to you I say thank you for saving my life. Australia, in so many ways, impacted who I am, but it wasn’t what made me who I am today. The simple fact that I could share with you our time there did.
The night we boarded our flight in Los Angeles was June 10th, 2009. On June 10th, 2026, 17 years to the day that we first met each other, I sit here dreaming about where I can go next. Wherever it might be, I will dedicate that adventure to you, my Banrock Crew. My wish for you is many more adventures in your own lives as well. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, I will be there with you in thought, spirit, and in the hope that you still find as much joy in travel and exploration as I do.
I quoted this line from one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs on that night so long ago…
“There are jobs and chores and questions and plates I need to twirl, but tonight I’ll take my chances on the far side of the world.”
It is as true now as it was then.
Another of my favorite quotes, which I have always found poignant and inspiring, was gifted by Anthony Bourdain. It goes as follows….
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s ok. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
My heart broke 10 years ago when we had to say our goodbyes. I am, however, forever grateful. The marks on my memory are as sharp as ever. It’s true that the potholes on Memory Lane have jarred me harder lately as we reach almost two decades on, but what I took with me I still keep; that is, the wonderful memories we made. I will treasure them forever.
I hope you will to.
Time Flies
A Letter to the Friends Who Changed My Life on the Far Side of the World
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
17 years ago…
66C.
Every journey, every adventure, has a beginning. That was where mine started.
As I settled into my seat on that Quantas Boeing 747, taking it all in as we taxied across the tarmac to the runway at Los Angeles International Airport late on a June night in 2009, I can’t help but reflect now, 17 years later, on how I had reached the precipice of a life-changing experience that has shaped me in more ways than most will ever know.
The runway was clear, the engines roared to life, and I was lifted off to a place that was a world away from my small, rural hometown of Woodruff, South Carolina. To my left and right, two city boys from New Jersey. In the seats around us were seven others who, unbeknownst to me at the time, would impact my life in far greater ways than I could have possibly imagined. We soared off into the night, 10 uncertain college kids full of a homogenous mixture of anxiety and wanderlust. Not knowing what the next five weeks would bring, we climbed into the sky on a leap of faith, but none more than I.
Woodruff is exactly 10,035 miles from Kingston-on-Murray in rural South Australia’s Riverland. In less than 20 hours, that’s where we would be. My journey there, however, is perhaps one of the more unlikely in the annals of travel.
Growing up, I had shown absolutely no propensity to leave the cocoon that was my hometown, much less to take the initiative to send myself to the far side of the globe. To tell the absolute truth, I was scared. I was scared of what the world might hold for a socially awkward, self-conscious college student who had a hard enough time talking to girls, much less spending 30 days in a foreign country with nine other people I didn’t know from Adam. Time, however, changes a person, I suppose, and when opportunity arrives, you had best push open the door before it gets slammed in your face.
The short version is, I was made aware of an opportunity to volunteer abroad through my college, and my interest was piqued. Why not? What could it hurt? Again, without mincing words, and after talking it over with my parents, I signed up to spend a month of my summer in Australia. What was I thinking? I had to be nuts!
As surprised as I was at myself, my parents, I’m sure, were about one shock short of flabbergasted.
Anyway….
The rest of these words I address to the nine of you who changed my life, who gave me confidence, and who, by all accounts, may have saved me from an existence that I cannot fathom in hindsight.
“When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you’ll understand just why you came this way.”
The song made famous by Crosby, Stills, and Nash was prophetic, wasn’t it? Do you remember those nights? I remember. I remember sitting under the stars at Banrock Station in Kingston-on-Murray. I remember the campfires, the shooting stars of which there were literally hundreds, and yes, I remember seeing the Southern Cross for the first time.
Now I understand why I came that way. It was to share the moment with you, and you with me, and for my life to be immeasurably impacted in ways you will never know.
I remember our last two weeks following the conclusion of our volunteer work, traversing up Australia’s east coast. From whitewater rafting, scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, swimming, and enjoying your company, I remember the fear and doubt melting away into the recesses of the new world, the wide-open world that I was now a part of.
Your acceptance, love, and companionship coaxed me out of a shell that had protected me to my own detriment for the first 24 years of my life. All it took was traveling over 10,000 miles from home with nine of you, who became my family, to make it happen.
And make no mistake, to this day, 17 years later, you are still my family.
Over the years, many things have changed. Yes, some of us have drifted further apart than we had vowed to let happen. Some of us are as close as we have always been since the day we met. Two of you were groomsmen in my wedding. All of you will always be near to my heart.
I have embarked on many adventures since then. I have fulfilled a promise I made to myself that you gave me the courage to keep. I have traveled the world. I have seen myself and human existence in a broader scope. It was you who allowed me to do that. You didn’t know it then, but unequivocally and for the record, I state it now.
Chris, Ian, Samantha, Nicole, Tera, Andrea, Cassie, Tamberlyn, and Jennifer, to you I say thank you for saving my life. Australia, in so many ways, impacted who I am, but it wasn’t what made me who I am today. The simple fact that I could share with you our time there did.
The night we boarded our flight in Los Angeles was June 10th, 2009. On June 10th, 2026, 17 years to the day that we first met each other, I sit here dreaming about where I can go next. Wherever it might be, I will dedicate that adventure to you, my Banrock Crew. My wish for you is many more adventures in your own lives as well. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, I will be there with you in thought, spirit, and in the hope that you still find as much joy in travel and exploration as I do.
I quoted this line from one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs on that night so long ago…
“There are jobs and chores and questions and plates I need to twirl, but tonight I’ll take my chances on the far side of the world.”
It is as true now as it was then.
Another of my favorite quotes, which I have always found poignant and inspiring, was gifted by Anthony Bourdain. It goes as follows….
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s ok. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
My heart broke 10 years ago when we had to say our goodbyes. I am, however, forever grateful. The marks on my memory are as sharp as ever. It’s true that the potholes on Memory Lane have jarred me harder lately as we reach almost two decades on, but what I took with me I still keep; that is, the wonderful memories we made. I will treasure them forever.
I hope you will to.
Author: gmitchell85
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