CURRENT MISSION

To build my life.

ABOUT ME

My name is Mike. I was born in small town United States and have hardly gone anywhere in my life, and I've decided to change that starting by severing all of my ties to the United States taking a year-long journey to Sydney Australia! While I'm going to finish my last year of school in Sydney, I'm intending on taking many trips to Perth, Cairns, the Outback- and maybe even the Philippines, Vietnam, India, China, and well- any place that I can get to, really. I've already spent twenty two years of my life doing relatively nothing, and I want nothing more to collect stories and memories and experiences before it's too late. My one life goal for for the deathbed to be the greatest reflective experience ever, and not a regretful one.

PHILOSOPHY

I've somehow managed to acquire a number of wisdoms in what has been a relatively short life so far. But the greatest is that happiness begins where entitlement ends.

Also nothing is more dangerous than the risk of a regret. Nothing.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I go to coffee shops and cafes and hostels and wherever the people are. I socialize with strangers and listen to their stories. In doing so, not only do I add to my roster of interesting people to have met, and not only do I get ideas for future ventures; but I also acquire the knowledge and wisdom from their experiences. I feel as though 90% of the adventure is meeting new persons.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The extent of my own couchsurfing experiences consists of travelling around my home state of Wisconsin and setting up shop in a friend's house for a few days. Sometimes I crash with a friend of a friend. And a handful of times with total strangers! Regardless, I feel as though I have a grasp of the manners and etiquette that are expected of a couchsurfer.

Interests

Cooking, baking, making friends, storytelling, reading, writing, photography, animals, human geography, geology, history, biology, physics, chemistry, urban planning, music (baroque to contemporary), dancing, swimming, jogging, yoga, calisthenics, socializing, introspection, and learning.

Oh and breathing. It's important for survival. And it's good for the spirit.

• animals
• writing
• photography
• dancing
• environment
• cooking
• coffee
• baking
• yoga
• shopping
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• survival
• music
• swimming
• biology
• chemistry
• environmental studies
• ethnic studies
• geography
• geology
• geopolitics
• history
• mathematics
• physics
• psychology

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a thousand of everything, these are just the highlights.

Music: One Direction, Owl City, Vivaldi, Lady Gaga, Silverstein, Hawthorne Heights, Anamanaguchi, Tony Bennett, The Postal Service, Savage Garden, Aretha Franklin, I Fight Dragons, Chopin, Jack's Mannequin, Nightwish, Blaqk Audio, Bowling For Soup, Mozart, Death Cab for Cutie, Nat King Cole, Enter Shikari, Streetlight Manifesto, Nickasaur!, and pretty much everything else.

Movies: Up, Stranger than Fiction, The Marvel Movies (Any of them really, they're all amazing), Shortbus, Lucky Number Slevin, Little Miss Sunshine, Fight Club, Unleashed, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Paprika, Akira, The Shawshank Redemption, The Boondock Saints, I Love You Phillip Morris, RED, and many more.

Books: My Year of Meats, Magic's Pawn, American Gods, Watership Down, Chronicles of the Black Company, My Year of Meats, 1984, Johnny Got His Gun, Brave New World, Lord of the Flied, The Outsiders, The Divine Comedy, The Alchemist, The Bluest Eye, Things Fall Apart

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I often see people treat each other with unconditional dignity and kindness. When it happens I feel like the entire world turns on its side.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a geography and environmental studies major in school, and I am entirely honest when I say that these disciplines are like my own intellectual couture. I would enjoy nothing more than sharing with others my own perspectives on geopolitics, economic geographies, geographies of privilege, and the finer epistemological of geography.

I'd also love to talk about the historical and social contexts standing in the way of environmental progress, and maybe even a few practical solutions and pathways to sustainability.

And I love to talk about gender theory and queer theory and ethnic studies. Generally anything relating to the human condition and the dignity of people, and how to make it better. I've never formally studied any of these things in depth, but having surrounded myself with people of diverse backgrounds all my life, I've developed a passion for it along the way.

No matter what the topic, be it geography or the environment or history, or psychology, or math or gender theory, I'd love to learn and absorb the perspectives of others and incorporate them into my own.

Oh, and urban planning. I want to plan and build cities someday, and I've already taken a little bit of time to learn some of the basics, so I'd love to chat with others about it and better prepare myself to practice it.

And if you've ever wanted to learn how to make the best hollandaise sauce, I'm your guy.