Staying Focused in the Heat of Distraction

It’s like self-induced ADD, traveling with people you’re close with, snapping pictures every chance you get, and then drinking yourself into forgetfulness at the end of the day.
At the start of a 12-hour drive from Vancouver, BC to Calgary, Alberta, I told myself that I would record everything on my week-long trip. My journal was constantly at my side with a pen, and my camera with its 2-gigabyte memory card waited obediently in my purse to be used.

I was set, ready to be a tourist for once, wide-eyed and excited to see and remember everything. Not that I was exploring an unknown world, but going anywhere new is an adventure, and I wanted to do my darndest to keep the details vivid. The Calgary Stampede, the biggest festival of its kind in the world, was due to start during my visit, I was excited to be in a different city for Canada Day for once, and I was visiting friends who

I hadn’t seen in over a year. I was perfectly positioned for seven days of fun and adventure. I was perfectly motivated to write about every second of it.
I didn’t really write a word about the drive, even though that was half the adventure. My partner pointed out all of the highlights of the Rocky Mountains while he drove, even though I couldn’t really listen to him over the pounding of my heart; the views were breathtaking. I took more pictures of those spectacular mountains than I did throughout the rest of my week in Calgary. I felt bad when we finally pulled into the driveway of the quaint single-family house where I would be staying, and vowed to write every thought as it came to me, and for the rest of the trip, my journal was with me all the time.

Alas, in the heat of inner-city adventure, Stampede-fever, and lots of beer, I was more likely to forego the travel-journal-keeping for…sleep. Or food. Or beer. Writing was something I only deigned to do when I was waiting for my coffee to brew in the morning, unfortunately.
While I took plenty of pictures of zebras and ibises and peacocks at the zoo, I didn’t do much else with it. Sure, I took a few pictures of myself and friends brandishing beer cans at the Stampede, our ridiculous reaction to the flash-flooding thunderstorm in the middle of the sunny day, and the ground-pounding, ridiculously fast entertainment of the Chuckwagon Races, but anything outside of the typical attractions slipped by.
At the time, I missed writing about the tedious line-ups waiting for Rush seats for Stampede events, quickly followed by the race for seats that the term “Rush Tickets” perfectly describes.

I missed noting down the great bars – not to mention the abundance of them – that I happened to stop in to for a drink. I missed commenting on the atrocious transit system Calgary has, and the contrasting, comfortably wide roads. I completely forgot to write about how exhilarating it is to go to a shooting range and fire a gun (although I supposed you can do that anywhere) in lieu of actually doing it. While I did all of the good observing that any journalist does, I forgot to actually write any of it down.

So what do I have to say about my failure at being a good journalist? I’ll just have to try harder next time, I guess. It’s difficult to be objective about something when you’re having such a good time. I had to remind myself to take mental notes of my experiences, but then I got distracted while doing the actual experiencing. “Adventure,” and “writing” are two things that can easily go hand in hand if you remind yourself of it often enough. The test is to be diligent and motivated. Basically, the more fun you have, the more you should write about it.

Also, any little teensy souvenirs that you can pick up from wherever you go, from a bus ticket to a museum pamphlet, to a bullet casing will come in useful later, when you need a quick reminder of the experiences you had.

Although, regardless of all the pack-ratting and photo-taking that you do, I wholeheartedly advocate buying a journal and actually writing in it. Nothing can record your actual thoughts, initial reactions, and word-for-word personal opinions like a pen in hand right when you think them. So, on your next travels, stay focused on your fun, but remember that the memories that come later are just as important as actually having that fun, and do everything you possibly can to record it.

It’s so worth it.