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Hobbies were tiring because I always knew what to expect with them. At twenty two, I was more interested in shaking up the world to see what I could uncover more than I was in fitting into society. I didn't bother thinking it through when I went to the park that hot sunny afternoon standing in the ridiculously long queue to get a bus ticket to one of the hottest lands in Northern Nigeria. And I hated hot places. I didn't think it through the entire three hours I waited at the congested park waiting for our bus to leave. I sure didn't didn't think it through even as our bus drove past trees and buildings and landmarks indicating that I was actually leaving this all too familiar town for the first time in all my twenty two years. I just knew I had to shake up my life somehow. Distort the regular pattern. It felt like a maddening itch you couldn't scratch. I was a girl who just wanted to peel off the extra layers of comfort cramping me in. Oddly enough, like some adrenaline junkie, I was getting high on the prospects of not knowing what to expect but I'd have you know that albeit, I didn't expect to get my purse stolen on the bus. Now, as I wandered these unfamiliar lands stranded and cashless, I couldn't help rethinking my choices. It was already late and I wasn't sure when to sleep for the night. I could go knocking on the door of a church but even the thoughts of that didn't appeal very much to me. So, I walked and walked some more clutching my sweater tighter to my body and taking in whatever I could of this city. I didn't miss how the streets still buzzed with life and how people hurried on without stopping to spare you a glance, unlike where I came from. I returned to the bus park and passed the night there determined to chew whatever this city threw at me tomorrow. The next day, I worked at the park for a decent meal and some loose change. Deciding I was done with this city already, I hopped on a train without bothering to find out where it was headed. I was done making calculated choices and psychoanalysing every situation. I was letting go. Irrational? Yes. Liberating? Hell yes! The next city was almost as exciting as the last one. I joined some tourists there to go hiking. I had lunch at some weird looking food stall called 'food talks'. I wasn't sure if I liked this city yet but the best part was that I was without expectations. I just wanted to unravel the world like an early Christmas present. One thing was sure, I will live each day as it comes. Today first, tomorrow later. I was already out of cash and so far, I was surviving on adrenaline. I overheard two high schoolers talking about throwing a party at the beach. At the risk of looking like a creep, I was able to find out where the beach was. The beach was yet another place I haven't been to. I'd seen it countless times in movies but never up close. It wasn't because I never had time to go. I was scared of water and my cowardice got in the way more times than I cared to admit. As I sat in front of the water hearing the waves splash and woosh back and forth, I wasn't sure if I was an adventurer, a tourist or a girl who just took a leap in the dark.