S2E5: Jeromy Slaby - 'A Failed Search' - a podcast by Hayden Lee

Have you ever realized that someone walking past you in the street has a life of their own? A passerby glances at you, and you realize - they have loved, they have lost, and they have a wild life of their own, just like you. Jeromy Slaby, a Chicago resident and the co-founder of Sonderers Magazine, named his online travel magazine after exactly that phenomenon. He has a goal - to bring humanity back together, one step at a time. Jeromy shows up to discuss the definition of “sonder”, the smell of his childhood (and how that led him to some truly great gelato), and why millennials travel the most out of any generation, nowadays. Jeromy’s feature is his travel anecdote about his adventure to the jungles of Panama in the summer of 2014, when he volunteered to build a sustainable community with the Outdoor Recreation Program. The story is titled by him as “A Failed Search,” and he recounts trying to find the Mother Tree, making a choice when you come to a fork in the road, learning to trust another person, fighting a giant tarantula mound, and learning to trust yourself. Jeromy offers advice on experiencing travel, the emotional impact of being in the middle of nowhere, and properly executing your travel plans. He helps you to make the realistic decision to travel, and teaches you what to prioritize. Join Jeromy and Hayden as they discover the further reaches of Panama and learn what it means to truly trust a stranger. 

• 3:45 - What is the definition of “sonder”, the inspiration for Jeromy’s travel magazine, Sonderers ? 


• 6:30 - What does your childhood smell like, as smell is one of those things that is so linked to memory? 


• 7:30 - Jeromy shares an anecdote about getting lost, his childhood smells. and Nutella gelato. 


• 8:50 - Why is it that millennials travel the most out of any generation? The world is becoming more international - is it a major cultural shift, or is it something else? 


• 14:16 - Jeromy Slaby starts to recount his story of Panama, self-titled as “A Failed Search”, and detailing Jeromy’s time volunteering in the jungles of Panama in the summer of 2014, hiking, and learning to trust yourself. The primary goal of his expedition was to find the Mother Tree, but he ended up learning what it means to make a choice when you come to a fork in the road. What allows you to go out on a limb and trust another person - a stranger, even? 


• 25:45 - Jeromy answers the question: ‘Does being a writer change how you experience travel?’ 


• 26:51 - What is the impact of the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere? Most importantly, what is there to this experience that makes it so special and freeing? 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

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