Rebecca searches the job ads but fails to find a vacancy for ‘living an awesome life’

Last week a 23-year-old Brit became the first solo adventurer to walk the 1,500 miles spanning Mongolia, which is one of the globe’s most desolate and unforgiving landscapes. Yes, you heard right: 23 years old. Walking solo. Across 1,500 miles.

And there’s me, treating my trips to the gym as massive achievements every damn time I manage to get out of bed and go.

I’m hearing the word adventurer everywhere at the moment and it’s making me a little envious.

These adventurer people are walking great distances, sailing vast oceans, journeying outwards and – rather predictably – journeying inwards. Meanwhile, I’m walking to Tesco, punting the Isis and doing the occasional – and rather non-inspiring – spot of meditation. Put mildly: my life sucks by comparison.

I was reading about a professional adventurer the other day and several things struck me.

The first and most obvious thing was, ‘what the hell is a professional adventurer and how do I become one?’. The adventurer bit was easy – go on an adventure. But the professional bit? How does one go on an adventure ‘professionally’? How do you get paid to live an awesome life?

Then I made the terrible decision to subscribe to the Twitter account of a surfer who lives on some beautiful island somewhere, apparently doing yoga and looking gorgeous every day. She posts annoying and repetitive pictures of herself partaking in various adventures, sporting activities and fun-looking stuff. Her life – thanks to the power of Instagram filters and sunshine – seems like a waking dream. I look out of my window and sigh. Heavily.

What is this sudden desire for adventure that creeps up every few months or so? Why this random dissatisfaction with ‘normal’ life? I don’t think I’m alone here. In fact, I bet it’s some universal desire – stronger in some than others, true – to be on the move, in the thick of it, in the ocean. Just to be free – whatever that means. You know things are bad when you find yourself searching through inspirational quotes online. What’s the trick then? I guess the life guru would say: Find adventure in the every day.

However, watching someone pee up against a wall on St Giles is probably not what they have in mind.

Here I like to play the grass is greener card. That little adage – although annoying when you’re eyeing up a new house, new lover, new shade of lipstick that you desperately want to try – is often true. I mean, Instagram can make anyone’s life look interesting. It helps mine enormously. But it does work especially well on our fair ol’ city of Oxford which is (despite the peeing guy) still pretty special.

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