I quit my job today. After spending the last 25 years or so trudging forward in the pursuit of paychecks and prestige, I have decided to take a left turn. The travels (and this blog) shall not end. They will carry on for years to come.

Elementary school to middle school to high school to UCLA to Columbia Law to Latham & Watkins. The multiple-decades-long linear path to a square office in a tall building provided me with a respectable, traditional education. However, nothing has taught me as much as these two and a half months living out of a backpack, speaking Spanish, and climbing to 5,000 meters before the sun comes up.

My experiences in South America have taught be about life, humanity, and our inter-dependencies. While I can’t wait to fully unpack for the first time in months, I won’t be doing so in the United States. I have more learning to do. The plan is to visit my family for a couple weeks and then move to Colombia, followed by Brazil. I’m going to start studying Portuguese, which I hope will be an effective supplement to the wild hand gestures I’m currently flinging about in São Paulo.

As I am leaving lawyerings behind, I am slightly disappointed that I will not be able to use “I’ll allow it” in casual conversation with as much authority. Other than that, I could not be more excited. I am branching out as a freelance writer (if you need anything, shoot me an email at MichaelBHuseby@gmail.com) and will be co-founding a travel business with one of my best friends. Details to come.

Finally, I just want to express my immense gratitude to my amazing family, who have not once questioned my decision to go on this trip or leave my job. They have been a model of support and compassion and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

And so the journey begins!