Will Strangers Help Me?

I just decided this morning to quit my wholesalematch.com job. I just wasn’t feeling it, and I thought it would be hard for me to be mentally into my work. I would have liked to make some more money this week from my job, but it looks like I definitely will be going on this trip without any money. I think I’m just getting excited to go on my trip, and I didn’t think the money was worth the extra week at a job I don’t enjoy that much.

Now, as far as my beta-testing period has been going; I’ve been really enjoying it. Getting a ride around Provo is actually really easy. I think it will be even easier when I’m in a place where I don’t know that many people. I’ve only had two people say no to me so far, and I’ve been asking for rides every single day. I’m not extremely confident asking for rides because I’m just “practicing” at this point. I mean, I don’t like to tell people that it’s just practice, and that I really could be driving around in my own car. I’ll prefer it much better when I have to hitch hike out of actual necessity. I don’t really like asking for rides at night, so I’ll have to do my best to get rides during the day on my trip, because it just feels kind of weird asking people at night.

As I’ve been spending nights at different places, I’m realized that trying to stay at a different place every night is kind of unrealistic. I mean, I could probably do it, but I feel like I’m using somebody just for a place to stay when I only stay for a night. I prefer to stay for a few days because then I get to know people better and share more experiences with them. I think I’d like to stay with people for 2-3 days because after about 3 days I just feel like I’m overstaying my welcome. So, with every person I stay with, I should have a discussion with them about how long they will let me stay, and then I can make plans around that. I’m pretty sure the hardest thing on my trip is going to find different places to stay on a regular basis. So, I’ll try to schedule places to stay in advance, because that would be pretty nerve-racking if I don’t have a place to stay at night on a certain day.

One of the things I keep telling people about my trip is how I’m sure that when I meet people, tell them about my story, and become friends with them, that they will want to help me out. Even as I’ve been getting ready for this trip, I’ve seen how people are anxious to help me out. A lot of people don’t understand exactly why I’m doing what I’m doing, but it’s mostly kids my age that don’t quite understand. Suprisingly, most of the older generation seem to be more excited and understanding of the trip.

Anyway, there is this guy that I talked to on the phone a while ago from my phone sales job. I talked to him a month or two ago when I was really trying to figure out what I should do, and when I was analyzing whether I should go on this trip or not. Even though the initial purpose of the call was to sell him, he ended up giving me some good advice about my situation. Well, I sent him an email today to let him know what I was up to. He was very excited about the trip, and he gave me a generous donation, which I was very surprised about. It’s interesting to me because we’ve never met, and we had a thirty minute conversation a month ago. Despite that, he is so willing to help me out, and I feel like I could call him up if I ever get to his state. In reality, I anticipate lots of different things happening like that. I know that as I interact with many different people every day, I’ll often be surprised at the help that people will offer me after knowing them for only a short time.

Lots of people wonder how I’ll find places to stay when I don’t know anybody in a certain city. I explain how I expect people to offer help by just talking to them and telling them what I’m doing. From my own experience by knocking doors for two summers, and through my other experiences of meeting people at random events, I’m confident that people are much more willing to help strangers than most people think.

Potential Dangers?

When I tell people about my trip, I get a variety of different reactions. But, one common concern that people have is how safe it is to hitch hike and live with random people I don’t know that well. The most common stated dangers are: I could get raped, robbed, or killed. Well, I’m going to confront those specific dangers in this post.

First off, I want to direct you to a blog I found about a guy who documents his trip hitchhiking across america. Now, his blog is pretty interesting and he definitely has some interesting adventures. But, I’d like to quote him on this topic of dangers to be faced:

“They say hitchhiking is dangerous. Everyone said I’d get robbed, raped and killed. I paid no attention. I figured America’s paranoid, and hitchhiking is safe. You can’t have an adventure nowadays without someone saying you’ll get robbed, raped and killed.”

Now he goes on to say that he NEARLY got raped and killed, but that’s because he thought hanging out with an ex-convict would be good company to have. Anyway, I agree with him that people are pretty paranoid about the dangers that exist, and lots of the fears people have are completely irrational and ridiculous. So, let’s talk about them one by one.

Rape: Now, this is the most ridiculous fear of them all. It hardly even needs discussing. But, I’m pretty sure I can hold my own on this one. If I ever get into an awkward situation, I’ll use my Ninja skills. No worry.

Murder: This one cracks me up. It’s like people think there are mass murderers that just drive down the highway looking for people to kill just for the shear pleasure of it. Seriously? Maybe we need to stop watching so many movies. The only reason I would get killed is if somebody has a motive for doing it. I don’t have money. I don’t have wealthy parents. I’m not from some famous family. So, the only motive somebody might have is if I’m an eyewitness to something. I’ll guess I’ll keep my eyes half closed the whole time, just in case. Trust me when I say that I was in a lot more danger as a missionary then I’ll be on this trip. I have the wits to avoid the kind of places I sought out on my mission. No more likely to die on this trip than I am every day as I drive in my car.

Robbery: Ok, now this is a legitimate concern. I could definitely get robbed on this trip. I won’t have that much, but, I know I could still get robbed. So, here’s my game plan if it does happen:

1. Try to smooth talk the robber out of it. I think even robbers would get excited about my trip and want to help me out. Hopefully at this point I’ll have made a bunch of money on the streets, so maybe I can offer to teach them some of my tricks. I’m not planning on a high probability of success with this one.

2. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to get away. So, this will entail a quick kick to the man’s pride and joy, or maybe some mace in the face. I’ve already had some offers of friends to buy me a can of pepper spray. They say they’ll feel better about it if I’m armed.

3. If I do get robbed, no worries. I won’t really have that much stuff anyway. Then, I’ll just rely on the kindness of people around me to help me get what I need to finish my journey. I’m sure it will all work out.

Now, I doubt anybody is going away with this blog relieved from the worries they had for my physical safety. However, maybe you can see how ridiculous and unlikely the possible dangers are. I’ll be fine, and I’m sure I’ll come away from this trip with a renewed perspective on how good most of the people in this world really are.