The Cleared List

I had no idea I would ever be able to call myself a traveler.  I often dreamt of traveling the world but had no idea how I could make that happen.  About a year and a half ago, I had never even been outside of my home country of the U.S. (unless you want to count my family reunion cruise to the Bahamas after college). Within the past year I have been to at least 7 different countries and numerous states and cities around the United States.

I make a living as an accountant, doing financial reporting for an airline.  Working in the airline industry has afforded me the opportunity to travel frequently as a standby passenger at discounted rates. A standby passenger is one who doesn’t officially have a seat on a flight, and is “standing by” waiting to be cleared for travel.

 I will admit before I started working for my current company I was very risk averse- I didn’t want to do much that didn’t involve having a “solid plan.”  Whenever my friends and I wanted to go on a group trip, I was the designated trip planner.  But as I have learned, you can only plan so much when traveling stand-by.  Will I make the flight?  Will I have to change my destination?  Where will I stay when I get there?  How will I get around?  Many of the answers to these questions I don’t know until I have arrived in a new city, state, or country.  This can be a nightmare for someone who doesn’t like to take risks!

This opportunity to travel the world has made me feel free.  There are times when I feel like I can go anywhere and do anything because of the experiences I have had.  I no longer freak out if things don’t go as planned, because I have learned that often the best moments happen on a whim. I hope you enjoy reading about my travels, which are often 24 hour trips that I try to make the most of.  As always, I can’t say for certain which place I will visit on my next trip.  But one thing is for sure- I’m going somewhere!  I’ll be at the airport, with my backpack or duffle bag, sitting staring up at the screens, waiting to see if I’ve made it- waiting to see if I’m on the cleared list.