Modern Gonzo

Tonight was absolutely fantastic. I have been waiting for this night for a few weeks, and it finally came. The modern gonzo, my inspiration for travel writing, came to campus and did a two hour talk. I've followed him ever since I saw him in the student traveler magazine, and his website is fantastic. If you get the chance to check it out, DO! It's www.moderngonzo.com

This guy is so entertaining and brave. He's been to the off-the-beaten-track kind of places like Laos, Albania, Cambodia, Mongolia and more! I find him so inspirational, because he never started off as a travel writer. He was your every day normal Joe, then some idiot drove into him on his scooter and broke his kneecap...or something like that. Anyways, with the money he got from insurance, he toured the world! He hasn't stopped traveling since, and is now writing for eight major newspapers and magazines all over the world. Oh how I want that job.

On my round the world trip this summer I plan to write as much as possible, then when I get back I want to try and sell some stuff. I may get nothing out of it, I may get something, but at least I'll be writing.

It's funny, cause I'd e-mailed him a few times, and once said that he should come to Edmonton to do a talk. When I spoke to him after the show I said yeah I'm the girl that harrasses him with e-mails. He asked who I was, I told him, and he remembered me saying I was the one who asked him to come to Edmonton. It was so exciting. It kinda feels like I met a famous person, even though the majority of people reading this will go 'Who?'. Whatever, he's my career inspiration, and if for some reason travel writing doesn't pan out, I'll always have my degree to fall back on. Supposedly.