Introductions

My name is Samantha Gullion and I am 21 years old. In January 2012, I graduated with a BA of Studio Art from Hendrix College. For my mother's sake, I am walking with my class on May 12. For a little while I was put off from photography because I was pushed too hard in my last year and a half at Hendrix. I thought about pursuing a path in Culinary Arts, but after some months decided it was not the career I should pursue. So, I have recently returned to photography as my medium of expression.

My only true passion in life is adventure. I feel that every day should be lived like it will be your last. Sometimes, (more often than not) this gets me into trouble with other people. I have a tendency to do whatever I want, no matter if it fits into the conventional role I'm "supposed" to play. This is true in all aspects of my life.

I love to travel because I feel that traveling is the greatest adventure a human being can experience. Maybe this is because I am still too young to understand the adventures that can be had in a stable lifestyle. Whatever the case may be, I find I am happiest when I am on the road meeting new people and discovering new places. I feel that when you are traveling you get to see the best of yourself and the best of others. This love of travel fits perfectly into my pure gemini personality. ;)

In March 2010, I joined an online community of couchsurfers. The following winter I traveled to Italy and couchsurfed for two weeks while exploring the beautiful cities of Florence, Sienna, Rome and Bologna. I met some amazing people who showed me the best places to eat, the best places to see and who kept me entertained so I wasn't home sick. The first person I stayed with invited me to join him in traveling back to Switzerland where he works, so I hopped a train and visited Switzerland for 3 days. Adventures like this would not have been probable had I been traveling like a normal tourist. I will forever be grateful to couchsurfing for introducing me to people who have now become friends.

Since then, I have met up with many couchsurfers in various cities: Miami (FL), San Diego (CA), Dublin (Ireland), Conway (AR). Each time I have made new friends and enjoyed the company of some of the most open-minded people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Couchsurfing has always been a positive experience in my life and the lives of those I've met in the community.

Currently, I am planning on taking a very long road trip around the U.S. I have yet to explore the vast majority of the 50 states because I have a low opinion of the condition of our society. However, I have come to realize that there are some amazing sites and amazing people that I need to meet within the states. Along this journey, I plan to create a documentary about couchsurfing and the people that form a community of travelers with light hearts and open arms.

My reasons for this road trip are vast and varied. I want the chance to photograph some of the U.S.'s most beautiful landscapes. I wish to express the incredibleness of a community of people that open their lives and their homes to travelers in an attempt to share experiences and culture. I aspire to find myself and my calling in this world. I am also, I fear, running away from commitment.

Last week I traveled to Ireland with my boyfriend of one year. We had decided that we were to be married while we were abroad. I do not truly believe in the institution of marriage and so I devised a marriage that I found more suitable to my psyche. We tattooed wedding rings on our left hands and called ourselves married. No paperwork, no ceremony, only promises and symbols of our love. However, I am very bad at commitment. I don't like being tied down; be it to a place or a person. I thought I could handle being married if it wasn't a legal marriage that bound me within the confines of the law. I quickly realized this was not true. I began to question everything about our relationship and pushed my new husband away. I began planning this trip two days after we returned from Ireland. To find myself in every sense of the word. To help me see that even though I am married I can still be independent. To give myself time to think about what I want to do in life. ( I feel like I would have been better able to handle the marriage if we had not told our friends and family, which prompted dozens of congratulations and well wishes. But, being married should be something you are proud of, should it not?) So, I am running away from a commitment I am unsure I'm ready for, towards an adventure I've only dreamed of, for the chance to discover who I am.

Being from a Liberal Arts school, it is much harder for me to jump into a career path and follow it to retirement. I long to be an activist and make a difference in the world. I want to volunteer for Peace Corps and aid others while seeing new places. Eventually I want my photography to be featured in National Geographic. I want to learn about every culture this world holds within its bosom. I've taken steps towards these goals, but as of yet am unsure where these steps will truly lead. For now, they have led me to a month or longer adventure around the U.S. Hopefully creating a documentary that will inspire others for years to come and in the process help me to discover what path I'm meant to take for the future.

My departure date is May 14, two days after the graduation ceremony (long enough to recover from the celebrations). This very well could be the adventure of my lifetime. :)