Music has played
such an incredible role while I've traveled. I'm not someone that always has it
playing or rather always needs it
playing. At home I use it to draw energy for a rough day, to find peace in a stress
filled day, to inspire me, to empower me when faced with disruption.
The day I left Koh
Tao was no different. With bags packed and iPod out, I pressed play on Jason
Mraz. Having had 5 days to reflect and clear my head, I was ready to move
forward and start a new. With the help of the upbeat vocals of Jason Mraz
blaring through my earbuds, I charged forward down towards the pier. I stopped
only for a bite to eat and a quick bit of time to jot down my parting thoughts.
Having spent so much time reflecting, I wanted to save all of the details for
future use.
The process of
getting to my next was quite the ordeal and required a boat, then bus, a stop
in Phuket town and then finally a boat again. With Jason Mraz still blaring
into my ears, I joined the queue of travelers waiting for the boat. I was hell
bent on making sure I did not get stuck in the closed off area in the base of
the boat. I had gotten such horrible motion sickness on the way to koh Tao that
I refused to relive it.
Sitting there gazing
out at the pier at all of the boats, I found myself eaves dropping on the 19
year old British and Australian kids waiting around me. They bantered back and
forth, ripping into each other with joke after joke. It was clear that they had
met while traveling and formed a caravan. I listened attentively as the male
part of the group from the UK began recounting the previous night. Apparently
one of the guys, who still had not showed up this morning, had gotten blazed to
the point where he kept losing his alcohol. The way they painted him was as if
he was this hilariously pathetic airhead.
With each jab at the
absent kid, two Australian girls would chime in that they just loved Olli and
that he truly was a loveable twat. Dumb as fuck but that's why he's loveable.
After about fifteen minutes of this, one of them finally shouts, "I think
that's Oliver." I look to my left at the beach pier and there walks a guy
maybe 19 or 20 with what I would describe as a typical Irish decent. Dark hair,
green eyes and what I would presume is a fairly white complexion (he was quite
pink from a day or two long in the sun for me to be certain). His hair was in
shambles and he looked like shit. Most definitely hung over.
"Where's your
bag, Olli." Screams one of the girls.
With a slap to his
forehead, he turns around and starts sprinting down the pier. He most
definitely had a good night I think to myself. The kid had forgotten his bag in
the taxi and the boat was gearing up to board.
As he walks back, the sight is reminiscent of a cowering puppy, ashamed
of what he had done. What is funny is that this isn't an unusual sight when
traveling in hostels in an area frequented by the British on gap year. (gap
year is the year after the first year of college)
Had I been at the
same hostel with them two years ago, I would have joined in and ripped shots to
the bloody end. I would have partied like the best of them. However, the more and more I see these
university students, the more and more I realize that I don't enjoy that
anymore. I don't enjoy that the purpose of the night is to get drunk. Sure I
like to drink and have a good time, but the purpose of the night has changed. I
want to make memories not forget them in the haze of a hangover.
With that thought on
my mind, I begin to board the boat. Suddenly the lyrics of Jason Mraz are no
longer a fit for my mood. All I want to do is listen to something that is
motivating, something that will ignite the drive I had before things took a
turn for the worse in November. As I walk the stairs to the outdoor deck of the
boat, I scroll through the list of artists on my iPod.
Curtis Mayfield…
Dave Matthews…. Janis Joplin. No nothing was right and then I saw it. John
Butler Trio. That's it, that's perfect. This particular group was actually a
find from one of my favorite college friends, Megan Arzbaecher. She had loaded
my iPod up with their albums, the spring of my junior year. I had completely
forgotten I had them on it until that moment on the boat. I scrolled to the
only song I wanted to hear while I departed the island I had spent so much me
time reflecting on the past few years.
Better
Than ~John Butler Trio
All
you want is
What
you can't have
And
if you just look around man
You
see you got magic
So
just sit back and relax
Enjoy
it while you still have it
Don't
look back on life and only see tragic
Because
you could be better than that
Don't
let it get the better of you
What
could be better than now
Life's
not about what's better than
You
can be better than that
Don't
let it get the better of you
What
could be better than now
Life's
not about what's better
All
the time while you're looking away
There
are things you can do man
There's
things you can say
To
the ones your with
With
whom you're spending today
Get
your gaze off tomorrow
And
come what may
Because
you could be better than that
Don't
let it get the better of you
What
could be better than now
Life's
not about what's better than
You
can be better than that
Don't
let it get the better of you
What
could be better than now
Life's
not about what's better
All
I know is sometimes things can be hard
But
you should know by now
They
come and they go
So
why, Oh why
Do
I look to the other side
Cos
I know the grass is greener but
Just
as hard to mow
Life's
not about what's better than
All
you want is
What
you can't have
And
if you just look around man
You
see you got magic
So
just sit back and relax
Enjoy
it while you still have it
Don't
look back on life and only see tragic
(Repeat)
Because
you could be better than that
Don't
let it get the better of you
What
could be better than now
Life's
not about what's better than
You
can be better than that
Don't
let it get the better of you
What
could be better than now
Life's
not about what's better than
No comments:
Post a Comment