Colby's Europe documentary fund

Sometimes life gives you an opportunity that’s too good to be true. Even as the days wind down and the preparation becomes more complex, I myself have a hard time believing the situation I luckily stumbled into. Often times I have been told that one of the biggest regrets of my peers and elders was that they wished they had traveled more when they were younger and before life became too heavy.  
About two years ago I purchased a new DSLR camera and discovered a new passion. With this newfound passion my eyes were opened to a whole different realm of endless artistic possibilities. I now had the capability to, in a way, freeze time and portray an emotion. This camera changed my life; it showed me a world that was previously unimaginable with the human eye. Not only could I freeze time to portray a split second emotion but I could also do the opposite. I soon realize I could also layer photos that cover a much longer period of time, this made for a unreplicatable shot. These pieces are my favorite part about photography thus far. This is due to the fact that you can look at an object for minutes and only see it from one perspective. On the other hand with my camera I had the ability to transform this item past what its commonly perceived as. I’ve always been driven by self expression; music, movies, classic paintings, street art, ceramics, fashion, poetry, freestyle rapping, graffiti, architecture, storytelling, and art in all forms. Now with this camera I had the ability to show my unique perspective of all these different artistic channels. This new chapter of my life had begun before I even knew it. 
 Not long after discovering this passion, I reached out to my college friend Durand and took a trip to see him in Los Angeles, California where he was from. Wanting to get away from the Kansas winter to visit a new place and get some great visuals, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me. I had spent some time with him over the years and gotten to know him while working towards my degree. I was excited for my visit, and what was expected to be just a laid back vacation to Los Angeles would end up kick starting the beginnings of something truly life changing.  
While at my friend’s house I noticed he too had purchased some camera equipment. We began talking and he explained that he had planned this elaborate trip to Europe. He planned on documenting the entire thing for his friends and family and whoever else was interested in seeing some creatively shot travel videos. I was intrigued, and in the days following we discussed the countries that he planned to visit, the food he’d eat, the people he already knew who he had made arrangements to visit, music festivals he’d marked to attend, and overall visually things he had hoped he would have a chance to capture with his equipment. I was fascinated with my friend’s confidence to take this risk. His willingness to leave everything to travel the world and submerge himself into a totally different culture one place at a time was inspiring. He would be rolling the dice and taking a chance to live a life he could only have dreamed of. I too had dreamed of traveling the World. But really, who hasn’t? But who was actually doing it? Very few people that I know personally would be able to handle a trip that comes with so much risk and sacrifice.  
Durand and I discussed how amazing it would be to go from city to city and film the entire trip as if it were a documentary. It was so much fun bouncing ideas back and forth and thinking about all of the cool and different perspective shots I could get with my new camera. My friend told me I should come with him and we could make the documentary together. What was surprising was not that he made that statement, but the level of seriousness in his voice. He had to be insane. He was completely serious; nonchalantly asking me to drop everything and come with him to Europe as if it was a trip to the grocery store. Could I really turn down an opportunity like this? This seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity to me. I desperately wanted to go, but going meant risking it all.  
 I needed more time to think. We discussed tentative plans for about a week, but I hadn’t mentally committed to the trip just yet. The most I had mentioned about joining him in Europe prior to this was visiting him later in the year for a couple days if I had enough funds. I had just received a promotion at work, I just bought a new car, I was comfortable living in Kansas City, and honestly I had no real complaints. But I started to look deeper. I had the time of my life while in LA, and my friend had shown me a whole new level of freedom in regards to taking advantage of every moment of every day. We talked about flying into Germany, moving throughout London and Paris, touching Spain, exploring through Rome, and even staying a night in the legendary Budapest Hotel. 
  Then again there were the risks of going on this trip. Dont get me wrong it's the trip of a lifetime but it wasnt going to come without a cost. The cost was big but possible, id literally have to sell my car and my valuables to make this experience happen. Thats the material part, then there is all the memories i was going to miss with my friends and family while i would be away. 
 After going back and forth and weighing the options a few times, I decided to weigh them another hundred thousand times. Ultimately, I referred back to what people had always told me, “Travel while you’re young and while you don’t have others relying on you.” So I was off to Europe. I was off to travel, eat great food, experience new cultures, hit live festivals, all while staying in hostels and apartments across the continent. I want to give all of my friends and family an opportunity to experience these things in some capacity. Durand and I also hope to create a movie documenting the entire experience. So as the countdown to July begins, so does this new chapter of the next part of my life.