Introducing: The Little Wanderer

Do you have a plan? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Have you thought about settling down?

All three questions are enough to strike fear into the hearts of many young people I know, including myself. Today, more than ever, people are are fascinated by exploring, by planning their lives only as far as the next year or even six months and for others it can seem irresponsible and more than that, terrifying.

So I felt it neccessary to change the name of my blog and also write this post so that I can offer an explanation to my choice of The Little Wanderer. Despite how very succinct the previous name of ‘stephabbot’ was, it was also a bit bland and just well, meh. The reasons for the new name are 3-fold and are as follows,

1.     It’s a tribute to my Mum. For as long as I can remember my mum and her friends called themselves ‘The Wanderers’ and I never knew why until recently. Years ago, on a night out, two of my mum’s friends got chatting to a couple of chaps in a pub and they decided to tell the guys that they played for a Woman’s football team called the ‘Mcgillycuddy Wanderers’. Now I can’t tell you what transpired from this evening, if numbers were exchanged or a football challenge was issued in the car park but I can tell you that the name stuck and they have affectionately used it ever since. I felt it would be a fitting acknowledgment if I assume my mum’s place on the ‘team’ and therefore call myself ‘The Little Wanderer’, complete with gin & tonics to celebrate my contract signing.

2.     I ain’t too tall. At 5ft 2 and a half inches (the half matters!), I have always been the shortest of my friends and of most people in any room at any given time. I have been the punchline to many a short joke and hey I’m not complaining really, there are benefits to my minuteness: I can buy clothes in the kids section of most shops and that usually means saving money, it feels more acceptable to cut the line at Disney World to get my girl Ariel’s (The Little Mermaid) autograph as I can blend in a bit more, and my chances of being struck by lightning are significantly lower than my more vertically endowed friends.

3.     The final reason for the new title is that I am a wanderer. I love living life with a sense of unpredictability, not having everything planned out and living for experiences rather than investing in material things. I have no doubt I will put down roots and settle in one spot eventually but I like not knowing what will happen beyond the next year. Sure there are downsides to this way of thinking but I am living the way I feel is right for me. People say life is like a card game and we each need to play the hand we have been dealt to the best of our ability, we need to take risks for the big pay offs to happen and no amount of planning or attempt at foresight can prevent the really shitty ‘cards’ from coming your way, that’s just life.

I come from a generation of wanderers and I am excited to see where my path may take me and through this blog I encourage you to come along with me to find out.