No one thought it would be possible to travel 50 states in 50 weeks with only $50 to one’s name.
Emmett Milbank took on the challenge; tired of living his life on a path that was headed in a direction he did not want to go. Milbank took the initiative and pursued what he really wanted, a career in travel writing.
Travel writing is the hardest job in the field of writing to get into says Milbank, “Everyone wants to be a travel writer, who doesn’t want to get paid to travel.” He knew that he would have to do something big to get noticed in the business to make a name for himself and attract future publishers.
This is how Hobodyssey started, Milbank sold everything he owned except for his laptop, Go- Pro camera and a backpack filled with some other essentials. To morph into a hobo on a quest.
His quest was to visit all 50 states, in 50 weeks with a starting budget of $50 to his name. Along the way he is documenting his trip with plans of writing a novel and producing a film documentary.
He'd travel by train mostly, but not with a ticket on Amtrak. Remember, Milbank is a modern day Hobo. Riding the rails, jumping on trains, sitting in empty box cars or hiding in unmanned locomotives, and asking random strangers for rides along the nation’s highways.
When I met Milbank in San Carlos he was roughly half way done with his journey.
So far Milbank has traveled 10,915 miles, logging time by hopping on freight trains and getting rides from complete strangers. He has conquered 30 states with 20 still remaining.
His money has fluctuated from absolutely nothing, when his wallet got stolen in Arkansas and $216 when he held a sign outside of New Orleans for countless hours.
But the hardships have been worth it with all the lessons and people he has met. When Milbank started his journey his mindset was much different than his parents. His father saw the journey as a waste of time and felt like he was throwing a lot away with deciding to go through with the decision. His friends thought the proposal was, “crazy” or “not possible.” Milbank was truly alone when he decided that going through on this was essential for reaching his passions and dreams of becoming a travel writer and making a documentary.
A lot of students across the country and at Carlmont can take away lessons from Milbank’s journey. If you really truly want something then you need to chase it, at the end of the day the only person stopping you from achieving your dreams is you. Milbank is just a testament to that, with all the doubt and people belittling his 50/50/50 it has fueled his passion to prove all of them wrong.
When Milbank concludes his journey and returns home to start on his book and documentary he will take with him all the memories and lessons that he acquired throughout all of the 50 states. But, he will also know that anything is possible if you put your mind and heart to it.
So as Milbank crosses off the last states on his list, think of him as inspiration and that your passions and goals are not as farfetched as they once seem.
http://hobodyssey.com/
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