Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other...

[Mike Solo]

...I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field controls my destiny.

In short, before the age of 30 years old, I want to have earned the right to recite that quote with meaning, we only get one life and I want to live it, I want to get out there and see the world, have some experiences. Life is what we make of it right? Well, let's make something cool.

I will re edit this post a bit later once I have sorted out my list and thought of a "leveling" system to stick to. If you are still reading at this point then I thank you and my love you forever. If you are a little bit bored or are having trouble sleeping, then please, read a bit further!

Why Mike Solo?

Firstly, Han Solo is pretty much the ultimate badass. Secondly, I have to be prepared to tackle this solo. I know my friends are not really interested, half of them are knee deep into their careers, married and with kids. The other half content with the "work, junk food, gaming weed, alcohol sleep repeat" lifestyle. None of them really think about charity work like I do or are really fussed about seeing other countries. So while I know that they will support me, I don't expect them to join me.

Back story to my epic quest:

I've always considered myself to be a "good guy" or a "nice guy". Never one to judge or hate, not 'criminally inclined', not one for fuss or drama.

I have always lived by an idea of doing the things you love regardless of what society expects. Just do it and enjoy yourself (as long as you are not hurting others or preventing them from enjoying themselves). With that I have always been a kind and quiet type, major geek and gamer. I never did particularly well in school and have basically worked since I was 16, earning what I could and, paying my rent living either with friends or family. Work, movies, gaming (and recently fitness) are the majority of my hobbies. Small but incredibly close and loyal group of friends. That's about me. Most British lads my age are out on the lash five nights a week, going to a football match at the weekends but that lifestyle never really appealed to me much, I'd rather spend my evenings with my mates in my own environment doing what we do. Wouldn't have it any other way to be honest. The only problem was, I never really "progressed" at anything. Some of my friends are still a lot like that - 30 years old, working a base level job, paying their rent, eating junk food, gaming and living paycheck to paycheck. I never look down on them for it as I believe they have the right to live however they want, plus they are not out there committing crimes etc, but it just wasn't for me.

In the past I was always an incredibly...how shall we say..."husky" fellow, but I got off my arse and lost weight, got fit and healthy, and eventually for a number of reasons joined the military. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't. It is for a lot of people, it's not for others. It was not for me. Once I came to this realisation and returned home to my 'old' life (having previously giving up my flat, my job and half of my material possessions) I had the usual breakdown response, got a bit sad, got a bit depressed, gained a bit of weight, went through a "screw it I'll just get a dead end job share a flat with my friends eat pizza and play WoW forever" phase and generally had a rough few months.

It was during this time that I started watching Athenelive again (you may know him) and I got involved with his charity project OPSHARECRAFT. I did some behind the scenes work along with a couple of members of his crew to help them organise and run a few events and to keep the stream running smooth and eventually hit their goal of 100,00,00 dollars raised. It felt good. It felt real good, and it set something off. That was the spark that lit the fire, I had an idea of the direction I wanted to take my life in. I'm not fussed about getting as high up in a job as I can and making as much money as possible. Sure money is always nice, but it's not a priority. I want to help people, be charitable, work all over the world for different organisations, maybe work on different projects. I feel this is how I want to live my life - or at least spend a few years of it. I want to gain experiences, be able to cross things off a list, maybe one day be able to look back and say "wow...I really did that".

I began searching the net and eventually found a website made by this guy named Steve, I saw how he had "leveled up his life" and the more I read the more I wanted in. So here I am. I have various goals and things I want to do, and after looking at other people's lists on here I have decided to group them up into "humanities" "exploration" "fitness" "education" "skills" etc. I'm going to create a "leveling system" for myself and get started right away. I want to get out there and complete as much as I can before I hit 30 years old - and I want to blog and document all of it. I have no idea what will happen in my life over the next five years, but I have 1,680 days to make the most of it.

My Epic Quest

Coming later tonight! Stay tuned!

Questions, comments, criticisms, pointers, tips, advice, free food? Please, I welcome it all! Throw it at me! Literally!

[shortstuff]

Welcome!!!

[RaeVynn]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Look around, check out our upcoming 6-week challenges, and enjoy.

[Laney]

Awesome post! Besides the fact I read the whole thing in a British accent... Welcome and good luck on your journey