Underage and stupid

[long4got10]

Look man idfk what I'm trying to do. I'm just a 16 y/o HS dropout, been living in North Carolina for like 8 years now, never done anything like what you guys do and believe me I admire it, but I'm honestly not homeless and have a lot going for me and no need to ride the rails, hitchhike or anything like that.

I guess the idea to try this out came about when I was about 14. Started reading a bit about iceland. seems like a place i'd wanna at least visit, you know? I'd dreamed about it for years and finally recently I decided it's never gonna happen if I keep sitting back and waiting for money to land in my lap. Started looking some stuff up, evidently a flight's way too fucking much given the fact that I have no job and live with my mom's BF because we can't afford a place right now, tagging along on a freight seems to be even more expensive and I'm not even sure if anyone would drag me along given that I'm under 18. Don't know the first thing about sailing, anyway. I mean I could probably learn rather fast but it's not like somebody's just gonna be like, "oh yeah help me out for your passage, I'll teach you everything" when they could easily find someone else. Probably gonna try to get my passport soon and see what I can do.

Basically, the idea's I want to get to reykjavik for a bit, and back in whatever way I can. Idk maybe it's a pipe dream. Maybe I'm just retarded. Maybe something'll actually happen. Idk, that's my introduction. Really all I'm here for.

Anyway hey. I'm an idiot. Sorry about the novel.

 

[kaichulita]

First of all, welcome!
Second, stop putting yourself down. You're not stupid or an idiot and don't be sorry "about the novel".
If you look at my introduction, maybe it's me that needs to be sorry. Anyway, that's besides the point.
We all come to StP because we have a common ground: we want to travel and we love it.
I don't know if anyone can help you get to Iceland, but I'm sure if you have the will, there is a way.
Also, the underage thing... you gotta be careful about that. Do your parents know about your intentions?
You don't want to just disappear and have them call the police on you. Plus, that's a very selfish thing to do to your family (that's if they aren't abusive and love you). I suggest waiting until you're 18, but hey, I would have totally dipped at your age anyway. Then again, I was very impulsive at 16 and did not care about consequences. Do some research, figure out what you want to do first, and ask questions on here when you're unsure about things. StP is a very supportive community and we'd love to help you if we can.

 

[long4got10]

First of all, welcome!
Second, stop putting yourself down. You're not stupid or an idiot and don't be sorry "about the novel".
If you look at my introduction, maybe it's me that needs to be sorry. Anyway, that's besides the point.
We all come to StP because we have a common ground: we want to travel and we love it.
I don't know if anyone can help you get to Iceland, but I'm sure if you have the will, there is a way.
Also, the underage thing... you gotta be careful about that. Do your parents know about your intentions?
You don't want to just disappear and have them call the police on you. Plus, that's a very selfish thing to do to your family (that's if they aren't abusive and love you). I suggest waiting until you're 18, but hey, I would have totally dipped at your age anyway. Then again, I was very impulsive at 16 and did not care about consequences. Do some research, figure out what you want to do first, and ask questions on here when you're unsure about things. StP is a very supportive community and we'd love to help you if we can.

Thank you so much for that, I wasn't really sure what to expect..so I sort of prepared for responses of "Yeah, you're right, you're an idiot." You lifted my spirits for sure
And yeah, I live with my mom and her boyfriend, they're great people, no doubt. I had a pretty lengthy conversation with my mom about this, she pretty much said "You've always wanted to go, so go." She seems to be really supportive (I mean, she's pretty confident I can handle myself)
At the moment you're right, this is definitely impulsive based on a long-time desire to visit Iceland..I'm just hoping I get the chance to go through with it, you know? I think my first step would be to get a passport, so I'll do that and try to research more along the way. After reading a bit through the forums, you guys are REALLY nice people. You all should feel great about yourselves.
Thanks a ton, cheers

 

[kaichulita]

Thank you so much for that, I wasn't really sure what to expect..so I sort of prepared for responses of "Yeah, you're right, you're an idiot." You lifted my spirits for sure
And yeah, I live with my mom and her boyfriend, they're great people, no doubt. I had a pretty lengthy conversation with my mom about this, she pretty much said "You've always wanted to go, so go." She seems to be really supportive (I mean, she's pretty confident I can handle myself)
At the moment you're right, this is definitely impulsive based on a long-time desire to visit Iceland..I'm just hoping I get the chance to go through with it, you know? I think my first step would be to get a passport, so I'll do that and try to research more along the way. After reading a bit through the forums, you guys are REALLY nice people. You all should feel great about yourselves.
Thanks a ton, cheers

No problem
I hope you make it to Iceland!
I would actually love to go there one day

 

[hellbilly freedom maine]

haha go out for one night bud and go from there, jump on ride get off repeat. get map, get scanner ride, repeat repeat. things will come together and make sense, all the research in the world aint worth one ride, however youtube especially, wizehop, railroad ron, punknomad, freight train hopping videos, is invalueable for info and inspiration. but seriously man, get out there in your spare time/ fucking make time, youll get good enough where you don't actually NEED anyone ya now? that way you can choose your own company. don't expect some dirty ass 16year old crust princess to come guide you, figure it out then make your own team also read matts posts at the top of the forums, its his guidelines and they make sense (i deleted the word "rules", for "guidelines" cause that's how we roll at stp) good luck bud, keep your feet dry also excellent advice above, don't just disappear!!! if you have to make sure the cops aren't involved and nip it in the bud if they do,a phone call whatever, because searches and all that bullshit really piss off a community and cost $, esp when it turns out you was out partying and living it up ya know, if it turns out you get hurt rideing, that draws heat to us also, so do it right bud. anyway, the moral to my rant is, take steps bud, don't expect to go from couch potato to world traveler overnight, keep that safety net for a bit man, take the sting out of your first few mistakes. that being said im fairly new, totally alone, and having a blast, ive come full circle in a few months man, the only way to learn some things is get in there.

 

[long4got10]

haha go out for one night bud and go from there, jump on ride get off repeat. get map, get scanner ride, repeat repeat. things will come together and make sense, all the research in the world aint worth one ride

that's probably really really good advice tbh, thanks man!

 

[hellbilly freedom maine]

your very respectful, that's the key man, good luck

 

[Odin]

haha go out for one night bud and go from there, jump on ride get off repeat. get map, get scanner ride, repeat repeat. things will come together and make sense, all the research in the world aint worth one ride, however youtube especially, wizehop, railroad ron, punknomad, freight train hopping videos, is invalueable for info and inspiration. but seriously man, get out there in your spare time/ fucking make time, youll get good enough where you don't actually NEED anyone ya now? that way you can choose your own company. don't expect some dirty ass 16year old crust princess to come guide you, figure it out then make your own team also read matts posts at the top of the forums, its his guidelines and they make sense (i deleted the word "rules", for "guidelines" cause that's how we roll at stp) good luck bud, keep your feet dry also excellent advice above, don't just disappear!!! if you have to make sure the cops aren't involved and nip it in the bud if they do,a phone call whatever, because searches and all that bullshit really piss off a community and cost $, esp when it turns out you was out partying and living it up ya know, if it turns out you get hurt rideing, that draws heat to us also, so do it right bud. anyway, the moral to my rant is, take steps bud, don't expect to go from couch potato to world traveler overnight, keep that safety net for a bit man, take the sting out of your first few mistakes. that being said im fairly new, totally alone, and having a blast, ive come full circle in a few months man, the only way to learn some things is get in there.

I want to nominate Hellbilly for "Best Post of the Year"...

I'm a drunken housie and even I know this advice is gold.
Listen up to it kiddo... stay safe.

 

[Kal]

Just stay safe out there and stay out of trouble, and no your not stupid or an idiot.

 

[Matt Derrick]

it's not nearly as expensive as you think to get to iceland. i've flown to europe twice on standby tickets and it cost me $290 bucks each way, and i stopped in reykjavik both times. it's a major stop between the east coast and europe, so just plan ahead, look for tickets way in advance, and try to find a company that does stand by tickets, cause they're stupid cheap.

 

[long4got10]

it's not nearly as expensive as you think to get to iceland. i've flown to europe twice on standby tickets and it cost me $290 bucks each way, and i stopped in reykjavik both times. it's a major stop between the east coast and europe, so just plan ahead, look for tickets way in advance, and try to find a company that does stand by tickets, cause they're stupid cheap.

To be completely honest with you, when I figured I couldn't fly I got real excited about trying to find another way to get there lol. Idk, I guess I get ecstatic about things like that.. There's sort of a glamor to new experiences for me. Would you recommend taking a flight instead?

 

[Johnny P]

it's not that hard to make up a little cash to get a ticket, whether it be abroad or somewhere in the country. If you really want to do something, it is easy to do it. You just have to figure out all the steps to get to where you want to be and slowly start working towards it. Each minute of each day you can put yourself that much closer to your goal....and this goes for anything in life, not just traveling.