This is the beginning of #BancheeAtHome: A blog about my life and misadventures.
When I got the idea to start a blog, I had this grand vision of writing an incredibly brilliant introduction about where the name "Banchee" as a social-media identity came from. For some unknown reason, my fantastical brain imagined a banchee as a beautiful, mystical and loud bird. I was going to use this creature as a metaphor for myself, obviously! However, after literally two seconds of internet research, I came to find that a banchee, or rather a "Banshee" is a spirit woman from Irish folklore. So, I'll spare you all the bullshit and give you the real reason behind the name:
My backpack.
Yes, it is the name of my brand new, NorthFace, Jaiden Green, 50 Litre backpack. At the very beginning of this traveling and hometown-living adventure, my best friend Ting-Ya and I decided we should create a hashtag to post with all of our online updates so our friends and family could follow us on social media. Various options were thrown around that included our names, the continent we were visiting, and the year, but they all seemed too generic. We wanted this tagline to reflect us, but not in a way that was explicitly about us or the trip. It had to be something timeless. Then, we looked at our packs.
Ting-Ya's, an Arc'teryx Bora 40, and my NorthFace Banchee 50: brand new and beautiful. These objects that would become our greatest treasures as we stuffed them with our possessions and strapped them to our bodies, began with the same first letter. The alliteration was too perfect. We loved it. From there, the hashtag #BoraAndBancheeAbroad was birthed, and we never looked back.
I don't know who came up with the actual idea. To be honest, I don't care. What matters is that this name has become part of me. This backpack, which I had carefully picked out and searched for also happened to be the perfect colour. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was mine, and to adopt its name seemed appropriate.
So, the blog. Well, it starts in Kitimat BC: my hometown and place of residence for the foreseeable future. Follow me on this new adventure, as I reminisce about South America; hunt for employment; write bad poetry (trust me, it's going to happen); complain about living at home, only to feel guilty about complaining; plan my next overseas expedition; and discover what it is I truly want to do with my life.
xx Banchee
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