So Many Continents So Little Time

• Publication year: 2023
• Citation: Vol. 46 No. 6 Pg. 52
• Pages: 52

So Many Continents So Little Time Vol. 46 No. 6 Pg. 52 Wyoming Bar Journal December 2023

by Julianna G. Franklin

When I graduated from high school, many people suspected that I would pursue a career in law. It made sense. I was a well-rounded, extremely involved student with a great academic record, little interest in the scientific field, and youthful determination that I would "help change the world." I, however, swore I would never go to school past the undergraduate level and was determined I would never become a lawyer.

Instead, I had dreams of traveling the world. Eventually, those dreams became a goal of hitting all seven continents before turning 25. And I did. I have traveled this world over and experienced incredible things. I have touched the harsh bristles of a sedated wild grizzly. I have been caught in a trance by a lion's gaze, frozen in awe at the unexpected pair of eyes calmly inspecting me from the cool shade of a bush a mere eight feet away. I have felt with my fingertips the fins of sharks as I stepped into the waters where they swam. I have jumped from cliffs and bridges to feel either wind or water rush around me. I have boarded planes headed to countries where I knew no one nor the language. I have been surrounded by wolves as they howled around me. I have crossed the Drake Passage by boat and felt the icy sting of the Antarctic water. I have traveled to each continent and talked to strangers on the street, on the plane, in the bars. I have been watched after, encouraged, and protected by friends, guides, and strangers I never even met. And of all the trinkets, trifles, memories, and scars I have gained from my travels, the most important relic I have is indebtedness.

Despite working at a bar in Peru, cleaning for an eccentric German woman running an Airbnb, exercising a retired racehorse in exchange for a place to stay in New Zealand and countless other odd jobs along the way, I came...