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Deniz Özdemir (19) abandoned his highschool education and cycled from his home town Zwolle (Holland) to his families country Turkey. “Why not? You only live once.”
Life is so beautiful and all this beauty seemed to pass me by.
Actually he hates to ride a bike. He doesn’t go to school anymore, he prefers to take his scooter to his job as a pizzacourier and he walks to the gym. And still he chose to get on a bike and cycle from Zwolle to his fatherland Turkey. “I felt caught. Life is so beautiful and all this beauty seemed to pass me by.”
Diploma
It took him almost a month. He filmed the whole trip with a camera and now that it is on internet he is ready to talk about his experience. “I always lived on automatic pilot. To school, to work, to the gym, sleep. I wanted to break that neverending pattern.”
So he did. And he could not have been more drastic. From one day to another he quit his top level highschool education, even though he was on his way to a diploma with great grades. “I don’t believe this paper will give me the experience that makes this life worth living. Society wants you to abide the rules, that you go to school and work for a boss. I’m really not interested in that.”
Route
At the beginning of August the moment of leaving came. Two thousand euro’s savings, two philosophy books and lots of water in his bikebag. Deniz didn’t plan a route, the navigation app on his phone should be enough. “I left in the direction of Germany, took a bit of the French Alps and then descended to Switzerland. I wanted to see Italy, so I rode my bike to Milan and Rimini. Through Athens I went to Izmir, where my uncle lives.”
Bizar
After 28 days of cycling, from the Terborch street in Zwolle to the west coast of Turkey, he lost 11 kilo’s and gained a world of experience. “You can see it in my movie. I really can’t believe it. When I saw the house of my uncle, I just broke. What a bizarre feeling. You arrive in Turkey on a bike, not on a plane. It’s amazing. I sold the bike in Izmir. I was done. I can recommend this kind of journey to anyone. F*ck the system, just do what makes you happy. You only live once.”
Watch the movie here: https://youtu.be/870PCoRituA
Source: de Stentor
Edited (11/6/2015) by JNQ
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