This was my first day out of Auckland and I was so excited that I cried. And when I say cried, I don’t mean  I shed a tear. I mean I bawled for an hour the whole way there. I am a supremo nerd. I have been wanting to go to this set since I found out that it was a real place that you could visit. I remember the outstanding beauty and magic captured in the Fellowship of the Ring. I remember it was one the first DVDs I ever saw and I was blown away by it. Being in Hobbiton was proof to myself that I can do anything I want to in my life. I felt proud and I think it was the peak of my trip, or was at least up to that point.

During the tour I was so visibly happy. At the end of the tour you get a free ale or cider at The Green Dragon. The tour guide offered to take my picture behind the bar because I was such a big fan and so happy. The one cider really did it for me because I’m such a lightweight. At the entrance of the tour there is a gift shop and cafe. I bought some souvenirs and had a chai latte and gluten free caramel slice to sober up.

At the hostel, I met this young German girl who worked at Hobbiton. In New Zealand it’s really easy to get a work visa if you are under 30. Most of the young people get jobs in hospitality and tourism, which is New Zealand’s 2nd biggest industry behind dairy. I ended up talking with her for a long time about my life and we discussed how traditional marriage is basically not something any young person strives for or even believes in anymore. So many millennials take for granted things in life that our parents never dreamed of being able to do. Travel is almost a given for many middle class white person in the western world. Her beliefs told me that freedom seems to be the new religion. Her youth reminded me of my own and how happy I was when the world was less defined and I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted. Happily oblivious to the weight that age brings. Yet with age, with all the struggle, the rewards seem to be greater and reflect a deeper part of ourselves and a deeper sense of satisfaction. Why else would anyone ever walk away from that sense of freedom and decide to grow up?