(female narrator #3) Everywhere you turn, people try to tell you who to be and what to do.

But what about deciding for yourself?

Roadtrip Nation is a movement that empowers people to define their own roads in life.

Every summer, we bring together three people from different backgrounds.

Together, they explore the country, interviewing inspiring individuals from all walks of life.

They hit the road in search of wisdom and guidance, to find what it actually takes to build a life around doing what you love.

This is what they found.

This is Roadtrip Nation.

♪ (Olivia) We're on the road about six-and-a-half weeks now.

Less than two weeks left.

(Tele'jon) It's almost over.

(Ed) [British accent] We've just been winding down, which feels really weird, like really, really weird cause it's kind of been my life for the last two months.

We are in Milwaukee and we are about to interview, uh, Will Allen.

(Tele'jon) So it should be on 55th.

(Ed) The man in charge of Growing Power, which is kind of like a non-profit organization that produces produce and things using aquaponics.

(Olivia) It's a not-for-profit, but more so, it's an educational training for his community, for employing the people around him.

(Tele'jon) Can you tell me how many interviews we have left, Ed?

[laughing] Well, Tele'jon, I'm glad you asked.

We have one interview left, and that is right now.

(Tele'jon) And that is huge.

(Will) My parents were both sharecroppers, so I was born into farming, you might say.

Growing up on a farm teaches you a lot of stuff.

You gotta be patient.

Yeah, right?

(Will) Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

That's what my father told me all the time.

Think about that!

(Olivia) What were you like wanting to be when you grew up?

(Will) Well, fortunate for me that I grew kinda big, and I started playing basketball.

My first year in high school, I became one of the top high school players in the nation.

And um, when I finished high school, I had over a hundred scholarship offers, so it really, it really changed my life.

So that was one of the transformative moments, when I picked up a basketball.

(Tele'jon) When did you come back to farming?

(Will) Well, I played in the American Basketball Association and uh, one of my teammates one day--he knew about my farm background-- he said, "Hey, how would you like to go b-, go out to our farm?

My relatives have a farm and they're gonna be digging some potatoes and they need some help.

And as soon as I touched the soil and started digging these potatoes, that was a second major transformative moment.

I wanted to farm.

There was some hidden passion, I guess, that came out at that point.

I started growing food.

(Olivia) Why did you start doing aquaponics?

(Will) I just started it as a youth project.

I decided I wanted to prove that you can grow food in the city.

But to be able to do urban agriculture in America inside cities, there are a lot of archaic policies that needed to be changed.

(Will) To really get people excited and to really move policy along, you have to have something very concrete that you can show people, like this.

When I throw a handful of food in that 5,000-gallon tank, that's much different than a 50 gallon tank with 50 fish in it.

(Ed) When did you first become interested in helping the community?

Um, from day one.

'Cause my mother, every night, my mother would cook enough food for 30 people--there was only five of us-- 'cause somebody was gonna drop over, right?

And when you think about it, here's a family that didn't have a lot of spendable income-- we had no car, we had no television-- but the one thing that was very powerful was our good food.

'Cause a lot of people that came to our house didn't have food.

So here, here I am doing the same thing that my parents, um, had done all my life.

Has nothing to do with making money or anything; it's just this passion for growing food and feeding people.

(Olivia) You seem to be a very decisive man.

Is there something that like drives you to just say, "I'm gonna go after the next thing"?

(Will) Yeah, yeah, I'm not afraid of work because I was brought up to really work hard.

My father, we worked hard.

So hard work doesn't scare me.

You know, I mean, you gotta have that kind of attitude if you're gonna do farming, you know?

It's just what you have to do.

(Olivia) Well, it's funny, there's like, there's so many distractions though, and you're talking about like you have endurance to go with something.

What do you, what do you think breeds endurance?

I mean, that's not something taught anymore.

(Will) Endurance?

I wish we could grow passion like I do, uh, that watercress behind me.

Or those nasturtiums or all of these plants, but that's not how it happens.

How do you stay energized?

You know, I'm 64.

So how do you stay energized?

How do you have enough energy to work 17 hours every day, seven days a week?

You have to be passionate to be able to do that.

You have to reach that, that point of passion that doesn't matter.

Hours, you don't count hours; they just fly by.

I get up at four, and the next thing I know, it's four in the evening.

Next thing I know, it's time to go to bed.

[laughs] So, the day just flies by.

You know, it's like passion is love.

You can be infatuated, but it takes a while to fall-- really, truly fall--in love.

So you gotta have patience.

Or you have to have enough patience to really become passionate.

Beautiful!

Man!

All right.

(Olivia) Once again, thank you.

(Will) Be safe!

Take care!

(Ed) Nice.

(Olivia) I like where he signed, that's amazing.

(Ed) Man, that was the last one.

(Tele'jon) That's a milestone, the last one.

(Ed) It's crazy!

(Olivia) He just summarized it so well.

Like, it was the ideal cumulation of the trip.

(Ed) Yeah, that was cool.

(Tele'jon) Almost everybody we've talked to, it's like you gotta have like discipline, you gotta like really put in the work.

Like, they worked really hard.

And I'm not like the most hard worker.

You know?

And so it's just like, you know, I wanna, I wanna come back with that mentality of just like "You gotta get it done."

I'm constantly thinking about that.

And I'm constantly telling myself, like, when I get back home, every single day is gonna be a day that I take advantage of.

(Olivia) Cool.

(Ed) Go Olivia!

[clapping] (Olivia) Yeah!

That's what I like, a cheering squad!

(Ed) [menacingly] Time to take out the trash, BAM!

(Olivia) Let's see, we're in Milwaukee right now, schedule is drive.

That's it.

We're going to South Dakota, Wyoming, a little bit of Idaho, little bit of Nevada.

You know, I love these long stretches, that zoning.

Just phenomenal.

Yeah, it's gonna be fun.

♪ (Tele'jon) It's been like a really reflective time, a time to like really absorb everything that we've experienced and that we've learned.

♪I've packed all my belongings♪ ♪filled my tank and closed the door♪ ♪The distance never gets shorter on this long drive home♪ ♪Push the pedal down as far as it can go♪ ♪Make my way through the headlights♪ ♪that lead me to your road♪ (Tele'jon) There's been like multiple perspectives.

I mean, we've interviewed like a whole gamut of like interests.

We learned so much from each person, but like, what's been like super special, there's common threads with like all of their stories.

(Olivia) I almost wish I could put, you know, that- that wisdom on repeat because it sounds like this big crowd just saying, "Hurrah, go for it."

(Adam) When you look back at your life, you remember the great highs and the great lows.

Th-the middle sort of does not stand out that much.

So never fear risking the great lows in pursuit of the great highs.

(Ed) Ian Harvie's advice, "Come to the edge and jump," something I need to remember.

(Ian) She gave me this bracelet that said, "'Come to the edge, he said.

'But we're afraid,' they said.

'Come to the edge,' he said.

'But we're afraid,' they said.

They came to the edge, he pushed them, and they flew."

I honestly believe that if you want something and you just jump, like, the wind will catch you.

Like, it will.

If you really it--it doesn't matter what it is-- but you have to jump.

You have to.

(Ed) I can't necessarily do what I wanna do within a comfortable safety net.

Like, I've gotta take a jump at some point Yeah, yeah, but then that's the point.

Like, it's gotta be scary, right?

Like, it's not a jump if it's not scary.

(Airea) Strive to be the version of you that you see in your head, that you know you can be.

(Ben) I made the choices that brought me the greatest joy in the time that I got to have here, which, you know, you take the age of the universe and even the age of the earth, and you realize how unbelievably lucky any of us are to have that gift of being here for however many years we get.

And what are you gonna do with that gift?

(Tele'jon) I'm not sure how relevant it is to the interview-- I feel like it's a purely personal question, for me.

Um, what do you think the meaning of life is?

(Sherry) I think that there's, the meaning of life is to search for the meaning you know?

Is to be on a search, on a quest, on a journey.

It's about "Are you engaged in your life?

Are you participating in your life?"

'Cause we all have to die, you know, but it'd be nice to live.

You know, to actually live and be present and have fun.

(Tele'jon) I guess I'm just so used to seeing people not enjoying their job, I don't know.

And then you see people who are.

It's pretty huge.

That's kinda how I wanna live my life, too.

(Staceyann) Keep in mind that the life expectancy of most people living is anywhere between 70 and 90 years old.

If you're 20, that means you have 50 to 70 years left.

Run, jump, move, walk.

Get your crazy done.

[laughs] You know, stand on a limb and teeter.

I say, while you are young, teeter away.

Reach, leap, attempt things that everyone says can't be done.

Do it, do it, do it now.

And live it.

You know, the heaviest thing you will have to carry as you move forward is regret.

Make sure you're not carrying too much.

♪ (Tele'jon) Man, I live in the city, and I've only ever really like lived in cities.

And so you got a mixture of like pollution and uh, city lights.

I never get to see the stars.

You know, I'm like super excited to just like see that.

See like a, I don't know, man.

A sky full of stars is gonna be insane.

And then to see the Milky Way too, that strip, you know?

See like a strip in the sky?

So excited.

The crazy thing is like we went this whole like stretch up without even seeing the stars.

And I pretty much gave up hope.

I was like, "Okay, I'm not even gonna see stars."

[laughs] You can see it?

Oh man.

You can see the Milky Way apparently.

I'm excited.

Boom.

This is what I'm talking about.

Wow.

You know, you looked up and you just saw, you just saw everything, and it was crazy.

And we were like taking pictures and stuff, doing light graffiti with the camera.

I spent like a good 10-15 minutes just like laying on top of the RV just watching it and feeling, like, small.

[cameraman] Ed, where are we right now?

What are we doing?

(Ed) We are, uh, in the middle of a big open space with not much around us.

We're in Wyoming.

It's about, uh, eight o'clock in the morning.

We're just filling up on fuel because we almost ran out, on a road where there's just nothing.

(attendant) You need gas or diesel?

(Ed) Gas.

(attendant) Yeah, that's good.

(Tele'jon) [in affected accent] Y'all not heading west, are you?

[Ed laughing] (Tele'jon) Y'all best be turning around by now.

(Ed) [laughs] Uh, putting myself out of my comfort zone, I found a new world, and I found a new way of living on this trip.

Uh, and I like it.

This is my list of first times.

It's not comprehensive 'cause there's been loads.

Okay, so first time in America.

First time driving an RV.

First time I meditated.

First time I swum in the Pacific.

First time 117 degree heat.

First time I've kayaked down rapids, had a s'more.

Firs time I've had a taco--taco.

First time I've celebrated the Fourth of July.

First time I saw a rodeo.

First time I saw an alligator being wrestled.

First time I spun fire, had a Philly cheesesteak.

First time going to New York, swum in the western Atlantic--during a storm.

First time I saw fireflies.

First time I had a Cinnabon.

I went to Canada.

First time I played Skeeball.

Uh, first time I sailed on Lake Michigan.

And first time I rode a horse.

Uh, and that's it!

Well, that's not it.

That's like a list of them.

[cameraman clapping] (Ed) Thanks, thanks.

Yeah, that took me hours, that list.

It doesn't feel like I'm out of my comfort zone because it feels comfortable now.

[laughs] (Olivia) You know, starting out, he had a lot of questions of um, confidence and social acceptance and all of these things.

But here towards the end of his trip, he doesn't ask about confidence anymore.

He just like exerts himself.

(Tele'jon) I've gotten to know that Ed's a funny guy.

[laughs] And I love being around funny people.

(cameraman) Oh, there you go.

(Tele'jon) Feels like the moment of truth is like coming, you know?

It's like it's almost that time where I have to prove to myself I'm gonna take advantage of everything that I've learned and apply it to my life and apply it to like my city.

(Ed) We are at the end of the trip.

Nine thousand miles, thirty-five interviews.

(Olivia) I feel like I can't make mistakes.

I feel like there's no wrong you can do, so do everything, and do it wrong.

Who cares?

Do it full force, do it wrong, do it right but don't stop.

(Tele'jon) Today is the last day in the RV.

That's so weird to say.

I just, now I just feel like anything's really possible.

I feel like it's something that I used to say before, too, but now it's just like it's possible.

You know?

And you don't have to limit yourself.

Like, I could do a job where I continue to work in the call center or something for the rest of my life.

That would be a life without the jump.

And yeah, I just feel like I've never wanted to take the jump before now, like, it just just don't wanna go anywhere near that cliff edge.

Whereas now, I've gotta do it.

(Olivia) I know I've picked up wisdom along the way, but more so what I've picked up is the confidence to try.

It's just like life confidence.

(Ed) Aw man, that's the last time we'll be on the RV!

(Tele'jon) It just hit you?

(Ed) I surprised myself by being as emotionally invested in the roadtrip as I was.

These guys just shared so much of my experiences for the last two months, and the last two months have been such a key part of my experience for the last few years and for the next few years.

Thanks for everything.

(Olivia) Yeah.

(Tele'jon) Aww.

(Ed) Man, you are awesome.

(Tele'jon) You're awesome.

For me, these are lifelong relationships, so, yeah.

That's how I see it now.

These are the homies, too.

You know?

I see this as an ending, um, and after every ending-- it's cliche--there's a new beginning.

I see like so many other things beginning, and I feel like all these other doors just opened up.

And so like I feel like I'm super excited to mark this threshold.

I have so much to look forward to.

So it's just, it's, all this excitement, all this excitement.

♪ (female narrator #4) Roadtrip Nation extends beyond the classroom, connecting students with leaders who inspire them.

This past spring, three youths from the DOMUS Foundation in Stanford, CT, had the chance to attend the Social Innovation Summit at the United Nations, where they interviewed a variety of influential leaders.

Here's a sneak peek into their experience.

(student #1) I'm Aaron Smith.

I'm 18 years old.

(student #2) Shaquan Howsie, I'm 17.

(student #3) My name is Sidney Turnier.

I'm 15 years old.

Tomorrow, we're going on a roadtrip.

(Shaquan) And we're gonna be meeting a lot of different people.

(Aaron) It feels exciting 'cause me being picked to go to the UN and interview people, that's way important.

It would be a good experience.

(Shaquan) So for me, it's just like, you know, what was their motivation to like get to where they are.

I don't wanna be where I am, like, for the rest of my life.

(Sidney) So our first question to you is "Where were you, our age?"

(Aaron) What was your biggest challenges in life?

(Sidney) I did seven interviews with people who I didn't know.

I got to know them better and also know myself better.

And because I learned more about myself, I'm more confident.

(leader #1) If you are put in a position when you can boost others, that's to me the quintessential meaning of success-- passing it on.

(Shaquan) You can be yourself and change the world-- do what you want to do and do what you think makes you happy.

Maybe I can change the world.

Who knows?

(girl #1) No matter what you do-- (boy #1) Or where you come from-- (boy #2) You've got wisdom to pass down.

(male narrator #3) Help young people find their way by sharing the lessons you've learned.

Take 15 minutes to tell us what you love to do.

(boy #1) The door is open-- (boy #2) We're all ears.

(girl #1) Become a leader at ShareYourRoad.com ♪