Memphis, May 14, 1:06 P.M.

I feel so grown up. And like such a kid at the same time.

There is something very freeing and validating about flying alone. Which accounts for my feeling grown up. And the kid part? I’ve decided on my own to take an adventure that is probably a little dumb because it’s cramming in a ton in a small amount of time and miraculous availability of flights is the only way I can pull it off. But I’ve taken it anyway, and I could not be happier.

Today’s journey started with a bump in Birmingham when I had to switch to a Memphis flight instead of an Atlanta flight ten minutes before push back. It was a scramble, but the gate agents were very kind and worked me in and I got a seat! And it turns out that the necessary change in destination was quite a blessing, not only because I have a much more open flight to Chicago from here, but because I had the pleasure of chatting with a blind Army veteran for the past hour.

He did not share his war stories or the details of his apparently painful existence. He did, however, advise me on life in general. He stressed to me the value in listening to the older and wiser people around me. We discussed the importance of studying history and the horrible mistake of ignorance. And we talked about the necessity of seeing the large picture in Christianity rather than getting lost in the details of denominational theology. He then asked about my family and listened intently while I described the types of familial relationships that he later reflected he had always wanted. He told me that my parents had done an incredible job with me. He told me that he was proud of me. I shook his hand, and we went our separate ways.

I don’t have a deep revelation to share about our interaction. I simply enjoyed our banter, our mutual respect for the study of life. We had the same appreciation for the past—for learning from others’ mistakes so that we didn’t have to make them ourselves. And he was impressed with the person I’ve become in my first 21 years. That made me smile. I was happy to be a light in his sadly (and literally) darker life for an hour on a random Friday.

This trip is going to be amazing. I can feel it.