Launch! Purpose!

Today is the official launch of my new blog, entitled Goffer's Travels. As posted in the description above, my intention is to write about my travels in the United States of America to which I'll be leaving in precisely one week. Stress, excitement and worry are daily troubles now, as I have to have everything ready for Thursday when I'll travel to Sweden to visit my two crazy siblings, which I'm very much looking forward to.

This being my first post in the blog, I suppose I should explain why, o', why I got the crazy idea to leave little Denmark and visit the USA. Furthermore, people are probably wondering why I'm doing it entirely on my own.

To tell you the truth, it's a multitude of factors that have led to this idea. Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to visit the Land of Opportunity. America has always been this mystical place where cultures and foreigners have, through much adversity, united to form a country. Another source of fascination is the power the land possesses, for better or worse, but the most interesting thing about the place has to be the people which are as diverse and interesting as the country itself. When I go there, I'll have the pleasure of meeting these people who live there and talk to them about the place.

The USA is the quintessence of grandiosity, and there are numerous places to see and visit. By comparison, Denmark has very little to offer on that area. Therefore, as the USA have been subject of my fascination for a long time as well as having a variety of sights and landmarks, it was an obvious choice to go to.

Anoher motive may lie in the fact that I'm a writer. Having written stories, short and long, since 7th grade, I've always hoped to be able to publish a novel at some point. But for the last couple of months, I've been working on developing a film script. Though I have neither hope nor ambition to the script ever making it as far as going into film development, the possibility, however small and insignificant, is there. I have always loved films, and if it ever happened, it would be a dream coming to life. And if it doesn't happen, I would at least have the experience as well as the exercise in writing a movie script.

Also attributing to me being a writer, I have been working on a comic book script as well. Admittedly, I am also a fan of comics that somehow go beyond simply having good guys and bad guys being pitted together and fighting. Having read some interesting comics that are not only aimed at children but an adult audience as well, I am a firm believer in the fact that comic books can be just as challenging as a regular novel. Most people just don't know where to look for the right graphic novels and have a prejudiced understanding of what a comic book really is. My intention is to further develop comic books that are complex, moving and thought-provoking.

Finally, there is no real reason why I've decided to travel alone. It was never a conscious choice I made when I decided I wanted to travel somewhere, but having decided, with full determination, to visit America at some point in my sabbatical year, travelling alone made it easier because my plans could be very flexible and changed at will without having to worry if a possible companion would find it convenient as well.

The next couple of days will probably not be all that interesting with me still being in Denmark. I'm leaving May 20th for my first destination, New York, where I'll stay approximately three weeks. Until I reach that date, I'm probably going to be nervous as hell, but when I'm sitting on the plane, most of my worries will be gone. Christ, a week sure seems like a long time.

Oh, and you're very much welcome to leave a comment, especially when I've left Denmark.

:-)