Mason Black's Interview on pursuing his passion
Describe yourself. (name or nickname, age, where you reside, fun fact about you that few people or no one knows).
My name's Mason Black. I'm 28 years old. I currently reside in Barranquilla, Colombia. Hmmmm... a fun fact that few people know about is that I've had plastic/reconstructive surgery on half my face from an accident I had in 7th grade. Yup, I ate through a straw for about 3 months, so I now hate chicken broth.
What are you most passionate about?
I'm passionate about doing whatever I want whenever I want to do it, which includes, but is not limited to traveling, eating, experiencing new cultures, learning new languages and watching Netflix until my eyes bleed.
What inspired you to leave all that you know to travel and work around the world ?
I didn't really like where my life was at that time and one night I had a dream that seemed to last forever where I lived my entire life out until death. I saw exactly what my family was going to be like and where I was going to end up if I stayed on my current path. Now I have no idea where I'm going to end up with or what's coming. And I prefer it that way.
How did people react to your decision to travel?
Well, at first they mostly doubted that I was even going to do it. I quickly proved them wrong, but mostly they didn't understand why anyone would want to do that, especially my family.
What are some of the financial difficulties you face? Emotional?
Hmmmm... financially, anything can happen. For example, I'm still owed about $2400 from a boss of mine in South Korea that I'll never be getting. Things of that sort can happen from time to time. Emotionally, I would say that you may be more prone to depression or feeling alone and isolated because you're so far away from family and friends you grew up with.
Scariest moment while traveling? One of your greatest moments?
Well, I actually just wrote about my scariest moment. I was kidnapped in Beijing, China (read below). And as far as great moments go, they're all great moments.
http://masonvstheworld.com/blog/kidnapped-in-china
As an American, what stereotypes do you face that either help you, deter you along your travels?
Hahahaha. Too many... And I also have a blog post on this very topic. Everyone assumes all Americans (especially white Americans) are dumb, rich, rude and don't care about other peoples and their cultures.
You only have space for 5 items in your backpack, excluding necessities (hygiene, passport, etc.), what are they and why?
Laptop (for writing), phone (for pictures), Hammock (for obvious reasons), Shemagh (has more uses than I can name right now), and sunglasses (that big yellowish-orange thing in the sky is bright)
What has traveling taught you about people? About yourself?
Traveling has taught me that people are the same no matter where you go. "Wait, people are the same everywhere? That's kind of boring." Lets be clear, this is not to discredit the beauty that lies in different cultures. Let me explain. You have good people and you have bad people in this world. You have people that help and people that harm. You have people that care and others that don't. Despite race, religion, nationality and all of the other categories under the sun that is used to divide and separate people up into their own little boxes, people are people. Now, get your ass out there into the world and find out first hand what I'm talking about.
What advice do you have for people who are afraid to follow their passion(s)?
I'll leave you with this quote from Jim Carrey. "You can fail at what you don't want, so you might at as well take a chance on doing what you love."
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