Fabio Luigi BarbieriIt is hard to give a short bio about myself. So I won’t. Who wants to read it, will read it. Who doesn’t, will skip around, or skip it altogether. Which is fine, I don’t read everything that's online. In an effort to allow a curious few to really get to know me, here is a condensed version of who I am.
Background
Yes, my name is Fabio...like the long-haired Old-Spice-wearing model, and yes, my middle name is the same as Super Mario's Koopa-bashing princess-rescuing greener younger brother. My last name also means barber in Italian. Before my origins became the target of many comical stereotypes, my forefathers built roads, invented law, and named continents. It takes one bad MTV show to unravel it all. But that's besides the point. To add to the funny details life decided to bless me with, Fabio actually means bean-farmer in Latin. Thanks mom. Albeit the Fabii of ancient Rome pretty much got the ball rolling for the West, at the end of the day, my name still means ...bean farmer. I have a brother! His name is Marco. Can you guess what his name means? It means son of Mars, God of War. Thanks dad. I am also quite darker-skinned than most Italians. Not sure why, as all my grandparents' families and relatives were all Italian as far back as we remember. But perhaps...it wasn't always so. To make things a bit more interesting, the people of the world tend to see some strange resemblance in me of their own particular group. Among the nationalities I have been mistaken for, I have been thought to be: Brazilian, Hispanic, Arabian, Israeli, Indian, Iranian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish. Combined with an almost-nomadic lifestyle that would put Genghis-Khan to shame, you could say, life wasn't always a breeze.
However, for as much as I hated many of the things that once plagued my deepest of inner-workings, I have come to the profound realization of how each little thing contributed to me becoming the person that I am now. Not to "toot my own chord", or however the saying goes, but I like who I am. I like the uncommon name, the out of the ordinary past, the familiarity that makes people say "hey, you look just like my cousin in Thessaloniki", and of course, the scar I have on my nose (I managed to bash a metal park-bench on my face at the age of three). It seems that my parents, in all their infinite wisdom, knew deep down that I would not only turn out ok, but better, because of all these natural challenges. As far as I am concerned, I wouldn't have wanted life to go any other way. The challenges conquered, I now wear as my medals. And that's the thing. Life gives you good things, and you enjoy them. But when it gives you bad things, you can either sit back and feel bad, or you can do something about it, and make it into something that's even better.
I was born in the US on March 4th, 1986, in West Palm Beach, Florida. I have seen that city thrice at the most in my life. When I was 1yrs old, my parents moved to Piemonte, Northern Italy, for about two years. We then moved to Ostia, a small coastal city on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. This is where my story starts and the memories begin. Till this day, I consider Ostia my hometown, as it is the setting of my childhood. But I am not only Italian anymore. At 11yrs old, we moved "back" to Florida. It was hard at first to adapt, but eventually I became American too, and ultimately learned to loved it. Americans, for all the shortcomings some may say they have, are the greatest people on Earth right now, no questions about it. So what am I now? It's hard to say. I have traveled a lot, and realized that what is law in one place, is not somewhere else; right and wrong start to become a large mass of grey. You start thinking for yourself, making up your own mind as you go, the more you see, the more you understand that no one really understands anything, including yourself. It may be proper "corn on the cob", but, I do feel essentially... human, above all else. Deep down, I think everyone is the same, wants the same things in life, loves, hates, and eventually dies fearing the next day.
However, for as much as I hated many of the things that once plagued my deepest of inner-workings, I have come to the profound realization of how each little thing contributed to me becoming the person that I am now. Not to "toot my own chord", or however the saying goes, but I like who I am. I like the uncommon name, the out of the ordinary past, the familiarity that makes people say "hey, you look just like my cousin in Thessaloniki", and of course, the scar I have on my nose (I managed to bash a metal park-bench on my face at the age of three). It seems that my parents, in all their infinite wisdom, knew deep down that I would not only turn out ok, but better, because of all these natural challenges. As far as I am concerned, I wouldn't have wanted life to go any other way. The challenges conquered, I now wear as my medals. And that's the thing. Life gives you good things, and you enjoy them. But when it gives you bad things, you can either sit back and feel bad, or you can do something about it, and make it into something that's even better.
I was born in the US on March 4th, 1986, in West Palm Beach, Florida. I have seen that city thrice at the most in my life. When I was 1yrs old, my parents moved to Piemonte, Northern Italy, for about two years. We then moved to Ostia, a small coastal city on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. This is where my story starts and the memories begin. Till this day, I consider Ostia my hometown, as it is the setting of my childhood. But I am not only Italian anymore. At 11yrs old, we moved "back" to Florida. It was hard at first to adapt, but eventually I became American too, and ultimately learned to loved it. Americans, for all the shortcomings some may say they have, are the greatest people on Earth right now, no questions about it. So what am I now? It's hard to say. I have traveled a lot, and realized that what is law in one place, is not somewhere else; right and wrong start to become a large mass of grey. You start thinking for yourself, making up your own mind as you go, the more you see, the more you understand that no one really understands anything, including yourself. It may be proper "corn on the cob", but, I do feel essentially... human, above all else. Deep down, I think everyone is the same, wants the same things in life, loves, hates, and eventually dies fearing the next day.
Character
 |
| Picture by Vladimir Kush |
As I have always tried to help people, and never hurt anyone, I consider myself a good person, although clearly nowhere near perfect. I’m a deep individual; deep for having questioned every bit of this life for 25 years. I was never satisfied with simple fix-all explanations. I was much like all the other kids, who drove their parents mad by asking “but why” ad nauseam; I have strangely never seemed to grow out of that phase, for some reason. In return for questioning so much, life has given me quite a bit of knowledge. Knowledge I deem essential for me to live and reach my full potential. I don’t think I am like most people, but then, most people aren't. If you do happen to find my arguments or thoughts, at times, foreign, it is probably because we might have taken very different paths. But no worries, I am pretty simple to understand if you get to know me. I like to be happy, I like to eat, I like to dream, I like to make money, I like to learn, I like to love, and I like to feel good. I am a mix of genes and the bi-product of my environment. What else can be said? Oh, I enjoy logic and facts above all else, but having lived most of my life only worrying about such things, I am now dabbling in the emotional side of life. Art, music, tradition, poetry, etc… I am beginning to discover that side now. You don’t feel completely human until you do, and I must say, how beautiful this side of life is…
The heart is strong, but it is chaos; the mind is weak, but it is order. Combine, and see what happens.
The heart is strong, but it is chaos; the mind is weak, but it is order. Combine, and see what happens.
Traveling
 |
| Picture by Howard Phillips |
I have been to a bunch of countries in my lifetime. I have seen more than 30 cities in Italy alone, having lived in two of them in the process. Most Italians haven’t seen as much of Italy as I have. I have also been to several places in England, Spain, Hungary, France, and much of the east coast of the US. As far as I know, we live on a speck of dust (that's actually a gross exaggeration), that is rotating at high speeds, in a rotating galaxy, possibly rotating inside something else... but, that dot we call our home, however small, is the most beautiful place in the whole universe. The fraction of it that I have seen with my own two eyes has left me speechless and yearning for more. Traveling allows the mind to expand, the heart to fill with beauty, and the spirit to grow strong. I feel sorry for those too scared to ever take a chance or ever leave their home town. What a small existence that has to be. Life tends to fast-forward when every day begins to look like the previous. I would try to avoid that.
Japan
 |
| Photo by unknown photographer |
If you could go anywhere, for whatever reason, scope and purpose, where would you go? For a traveler like me, the foreign isn't something bad, it’s deliciously there, waiting to be experienced, explored, conquered, recorded, and remembered. So, when it comes to foreign, it doesn’t get any more alien than Japan. I have always had immense respect for the Japanese culture. Few nations in the world can boast of similar values and positive, peaceful and efficient mentalities.
Regardless of the preconceived notions one might have of Japan, it does house an economy as large as China’s, and boasts of having the world’s largest city, with 30 million people. So...great culture, foreign customs, vast metropolises, not to say, good food, anime and… Japanese girls! Why wouldn't I go to Japan? What was originally a two-week trip to go backpacking in the Land of the Rising Sun, ended up becoming a two-month journey on bike once I realized I might also be able to help someone out in the process. I finally get to go and see you Japan, and it seems right for me to say that I won't leave until I first lend you a hand in this difficult time of yours.
Regardless of the preconceived notions one might have of Japan, it does house an economy as large as China’s, and boasts of having the world’s largest city, with 30 million people. So...great culture, foreign customs, vast metropolises, not to say, good food, anime and… Japanese girls! Why wouldn't I go to Japan? What was originally a two-week trip to go backpacking in the Land of the Rising Sun, ended up becoming a two-month journey on bike once I realized I might also be able to help someone out in the process. I finally get to go and see you Japan, and it seems right for me to say that I won't leave until I first lend you a hand in this difficult time of yours.
Why I am doing it
 |
| Picture by J. W. Waterhouse |
I am going to cycle the length of the entire country for many reasons. Being a business student, and personally, someone who enjoys efficiency with a bit too much enthusiasm, taking on this challenge will hopefully achieve many things. I cannot say one thing made me do it. A mix of lifelong factors converged, eventually bringing me to the decision of whether to go or not.
All I had to do is say yes.
All I had to do is say yes.
Here is the list of reasons of why I am going (not in any particular order):
• REASON 1: I have stalled out. I need to do something great to gain great momentum
- I hope to achieve this challenge, gain mental fortitude and willpower
- Gain confidence and courage to go after big dreams again
- Never go back to the same old life full of laziness and mistakes
- Raise enough capital to at least have a small impact on a few struggling people
- To sensitize people to the devastation that has occurred
- To show fellow man that we care, as we often claim we do
- To provide two strong arms and a head full of knowledge to non-profit organizations by volunteering as I make my way South
- See all the best and most beautiful sites Japan has to offer and learn about this country
- Big metropolises, small mountain villages, great feats of human progress, ancient forest shrines, rotenburos, natural beauties
- Food, culture, festivals, spirituality, animism, everyday Japanese life
- Learn its geography, history, economy, standards and ability to run so efficiently
- Venture alone into the world, in any direction I wish, like travelers from olden times, looking for adventure and a meaning to life
- I will never be as fit as I want to be, but it’s only because I am not taking into consideration the kind of challenges that fit the person I am. Gym, you suck
- Return with no gut and plenty of muscles
- To write it, I must experience something similar to the adventure I want people to feel from the novel
- Understand solitude. The thoughts, the fears, the emotions, the loneliness, the freedom to let your mind wonder in any direction without being affected by others
- To understand the bonds between a traveler and a local
- Meet a homeless person
- Meet a stray dog
- Meet lots of strangers and make lot's of random friends
- To understand the emotions when seeing something great or beautiful
- To gain the courage and drive to make it a reality
- Go anywhere I want
- Sleep anywhere I want
- Do whatever I want to do
- Conquer the darkness without
- Conquer the darkness within
- Conquer insecurities
- Become more sociable and talkative to strangers and people
- Stop living life as if it is one day, repeated thousands of times
- See new things, live a different life for a while
- Conquer unhealthy habits
- Mend old wounds
- Release stress and release any paranoia, anger, anxiety and regret
- Open new doors and figure out the next step
- Show great companies that I may be a great asset to their endeavors
- Never stop filling the mind with the wonders of this place
So, that’s who I am in a nutshell. This is my stepping-stone from school into the real world, and into complete adulthood. I guess I am going because I essentially want to live my only life to the fullest, and for once, do some real good for someone that needs it. And what better time to do it than now.I hope you have enjoyed my bio. I have always been very reserved about telling people who I am, but for some reason, I’m starting not to care anymore. If you can help me help victims of this disaster, you will have my eternal gratitude, as well as theirs. And if you ever want to say hello while I'm traveling, don’t hesitate... I will certainly say hello back.
Contact Info:
Skype Name: PedalForJapan
Email: FabioLuigiBarbieri@gmail.com
