My name is Braden. I'm from a small little town in the middle of Indiana in the U.S., called Wabash. I currently live in Muncie, Indiana. I'm a very nomadic and free spirited individual. I never did like to stay in one place for long. Playing music and adventuring is what makes me feel most alive. I'm also very deeply spiritual, with a philosophical mind and a logical approach. My hunger for knowledge, truth, and wisdom is unquenchable. I can have a conversation for days on end about anything that's interesting and worth talking about.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm a very free spirited and nomadic individual. It's taken me a long time to finally realize that I don't want to settle down somewhere in the U.S., with a career and a house and a family, at least not anytime soon. I'm young and have very few ties, and I've always felt the most alive when I'm on the open road. I want to see as much of the world and do as much as possible before I tie myself down like that. Goals include, but are not limited to:
1. Norway (Especially Svalbard)
2. Finland
3. Sweden
4. Denmark
5. The Netherlands
6. Iceland
7. Ireland
8. The UK
9. Australia
10. Tasmania
11. New Zealand
12. New Guinea
13. Japan
14. Many, many, many more

Interests

Music, both playing and listening. My dream is to be a musician and travel the world, waking up the young people of my generation and starting a revolution, not of the physical, but of the mind and of the spirit. I want to show the world that there is still hope left for us.

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:

Pop punk genre (A Day to Remember, Four Year Strong, The Story So Far, Real Friends, etc.)

Books:

Philosophy books take the number one spot by a landslide. Socrates is my favorite, though only what Plato wrote about him is known. I also love Plato and Aristotle, and I particularly enjoy the meditations of Rene Descartes. Next come science books, but I take it with a healthy dose of curiosity mixed with skepticism. I believe everything learned must be questioned and confirmed before it is accepted as fact, whether it is confirmed by one or more of our five senses, or some other faculty of ours. After science, I very much enjoy studying history. The failures and successes of our ancestors, and everything in between interests me almost to no end. I like to make note of when and where history repeats itself. Next come the novels, and this is a very broad category, because I enjoy all kinds of novels, from science fiction and fantasy, to true stories, to thrillers, etc. However, if I am going to read a book that would fall into the category of novels, whether it is fiction or non fiction, I am very picky. It must meet at least one of the following criteria:
-It must have a deeper meaning
-It must have some sort of knowledge I can gain from it
-It must be something that can be related to real life
Basically, I read for the purpose of gaining knowledge, truth, and/or wisdom. I must note, however, that I am a HUGE fan of Attack on Titan, and I stay current with the manga. But I don't read it merely for entertainment alone. I am fascinated with it because it reminds me so much of the world we live in today. So in a way, I learn from it as well.

Movies:

Documentaries make the top of this list, if you can consider them movies. I also enjoy science fiction and fantasy movies, thrillers, and horror movies, but if we're being honest, I don't spend much of my time seeking entertainment from media, so it is rare that I watch movies outside of Documentaries, which I watch to gain knowledge.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The only way to win is to fight, and even if you fight, you might still lose. You might still never make it. But the only sure way to lose is to give up. Giving up ensures an absolute 0% chance at winning. I might fight and still lose, and if I do, then I'll throw in the towel and accept my fate. But if I win, I get to live. I think that's a chance worth taking. When I was just a tiny little sperm, I fought, and I fought, and I fought some more. And would you imagine that I won, despite all the odds against me? I beat all the other millions of sperm and fertilized the egg. I think that's pretty amazing. I won, so that's got to mean I'm here for something incredible. And if you're a human being reading this right now, then that means so did you. So just remember, that's the most amazing thing anyone can ever possibly do. The gift of life is a miracle. You made it this far. Don't waste it.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach:

I can teach you the basics of playing guitar, and basic music theory in general.

Learn:

I started playing guitar shortly after I turned 21, so I am still fairly new. Therefore, I can always learn from someone who's been playing longer, and I am absolutely always willing to learn.

Share:

I can share the most stimulating conversational topics you'll ever come across. In my recent life, my spirit has been awakened by some otherworldly being or beings to some of the knowledge of the truth of the nature of things in this universe, and one of the things I have been blessed with is the ability to relentlessly seek more knowledge, and to seek more wisdom, and to ultimately seek the truth of everything there is that's worth learning about. It happens to be that much can be learned through conversations between like minded individuals, so any kind of intellectual conversation is always welcome with me, no matter what time of day or year it is, or what is going on around us. I am very open-minded, so share what you know with me, I'll share what I know with you, and we'll compare and contrast and soak up one another's knowledge.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm an intellectual, a spiritual, and a philosophical type at heart. I'm also a leader by nature, so I am always willing to take the lead on an adventure. I play guitar and I can sing pretty well, so I can either teach you what I know, or if you know more than me and are more experienced, then I will soak up any knowledge you're willing to share. In a teacher/student situation, both teacher and student learn from one another.

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States