Me, seven years later

In the younger of the two photos I was in Australia on my first ever-extended trip. I was fresh out of college, starting out on an adventure that would eventually lead to a career that seemed unattainable. I was 5 years into a relationship with Annie who was half a world away still in school. I was in the middle of a road trip from Cairns to Melbourne in a Ford station wagon that I bought for a little over $1,000. The camera sat on a file cabinet in the home of the nephew of legendary Aussie adventurer Alby Mangels.

In the older of the two I was sitting behind our house in our…