A Baduk Blog

When I was 22 I sold my worldly possessions, strapped a backpack onto a bicycle, and peddled a few hundred miles to a commune in rural Virginia. I only lived in this hundred person commune for a short while, but it taught me many new life lessons.

Two years later, after traveling around the US and Asia, I found myself back in Ohio. I had grown weary of 'yet another' beautiful sunset with people whom I did not know. I longed for a connection to other like minded human beings that I knew was possible. And so I moved to the city of Cincinnati to be with a girl.

Well... I was still miserable. I didn't know anyone in Cincinnati because I had grown up in Columbus. So after another year, it was time for some more change. I went to Costa Rica to work on a farm for a few months. And after that, untethered from anywhere in the world, I decided to move back to Columbus, Ohio. I moved there because I knew people. I understood how things worked and how I fit into them, and because however loose it was, I had community.

I chose to live in an “up-and-coming” part of town, which a guy I met during another cross country bicycle ride lived. He moved away, but I moved into a house of 3 other people and I loved it. I had housemates, I knew my neighbors, and I made new friends across the city. In short, I began to find and build community.

I still miss the commune and I often think of moving back. But the part I miss the most was connecting with other human beings over shared interests and beliefs. I'm doing that now, right where I am.