Thoughts from the bourbon trail. A tribute to my brother. 

My dad is a huge fan of bourbon, scotch, and whisky. He totally geeks out on the process of making it, the history, the culture of it, everything. He got my brother and I into it when we turned 21 as well. So this weekend, in celebration of my brother's 30th birthday, my brother's wife planned a trip for everyone to head down to the bourbon trail in Kentucky and visit 4 distilleries. It was a great weekend for many different reasons. 

First and foremost, it was my brother's 30th birthday. My brother has been my hero and role model my entire life, so it is very surreal to think we are now 30 and 22 respectively. Josh is responsible for many of the things that make me who I am today, from my interests and hobbies all the way to my moral compass. He's the reason I picked up lacrosse in 3rd grade, the reason I began to consider alternate career paths beyond a corporate job, the reason I wanted to give travelling a try, and much more. 

Not everyone has the relationship with their siblings that I can say I have with my brother. I am extremely grateful. Dudes struggle a lot with sharing emotional feelings, especially with each other, but I think it's extremely necessary to do so when needed. And this is absolutely one of those times. He continues to be a trusted guide, friend, collaborator, voice of reason, devil's advocate, and more. Our conversations are very important to me and they are all encompassing. As we discuss more adult things now that he has a family and I have grown up, these conversations only become more vital. I am grateful for them. 

So again, first and foremost, this weekend was a tribute to my brother. Love you man, and thank you for everything. 

Second, and vastly less important now that I've written the above (but still important), is the enjoyment of a "high-level hobby." In my mind high-level hobbies are activities or interests that you can be an absolute beginner all the way up to master at. Whether it is knowledge or skills that define a master isn't important, just that there is a spectrum. I think high-level hobbies are a great way to commit to and be interested in something. They can also be anything. For me some of my high-level hobbies are podcasting, writing, bourbon, guitar (sometimes), lacrosse, and hopefully more in the future. 

I think they make you more interesting as a person, give you more to talk about, and help you get more out of life. 
 

Paris