(male announcer) roadtrip nation is also made possible by at&t: helping connect students to success in school, in the workforce, and in life. (female narrator) 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. this past summer, teams of roadtrippers crossed the country, hoping to gain insight into their lives. on the road, they met all kinds of interesting people to learn how they found their way. this is roadtrip nation. (calvin) i don't know about this. people really do this? (vanessa) yeah. (calvin) really? i don't know. [laughter] (calvin) this seems really dangerous. [cheering] (vanessa) [laughter] i'm going to die. (vanessa) i make things difficult because i think about the negative aspect of everything i'm going to take part in. so then it creates this fear. (vanessa) but i'm going to fall, i can't. and then i have to get over the fear, rather than just excluding all that thought and then just pursuing something. (calvin) today is friday, july 17th, and we've been on the road for 19 days. (vanessa) we're on the road this summer talking with people who have followed their passions in life and defined their own road. so, where were you at our age? (female #4) i was working full time and doing a night program in environmental ethics. it was a lot of work. one of our founders, when he ran the company, used the metaphor that's always stuck with me. he was a triathlete, and he would talk about the periodization of stress. i've always looked at our life here at new belgium in that way-- and my own personal life. that times of stress is necessary for growth, but you also need that time of recovery and ease because that's when you sort of integrate your gains. you know what i mean? and that you can't always be sprinting and you can't always be coasting, that you need both in life. so, try and take the long view and realize both are necessary. [clapping] ♪ cheers! here's to your adventure. i wanted to be an english lit major. my parents were like, "no way." and my dad was like, "you should be in the business school". so i'm like, "alright." he worked for ibm all his life. so i was in the business school for a year, and the final straw was there was a two-hour lecture on how to properly shake hands. and i said, "this is ridiculous, i'm done." and that's when i said, "i'm going to study lit!" and they said, "well, we're paying for it", and so journalism was sort of the compromise. but it actually served me very well 'cause i learned some writing skills and certainly how to edit myself down and be brief. um, not my talking skills, my writing skills. [laughter] when i left college i was ready to hit the ground running, and i worked in television news for a good number of years. i had a moment my first year in news where it was grinding on me. like, you're kind of covering a lot of death and mayhem and just, down, downer stuff. and having to go to funerals-- and viewing people's faces was not my thing. and i went and saw the movie "edward scissorhands" with my sister at christmastime. and i literally was sitting in the movie theater, i'm like, "this is brilliant, i'm going to quit my job and move out to los angeles," and i turned to my sister and said that. and two weeks later i quit my job, it was my first job in journalism, and got my buddy from this town to move out there with me and write screenplays and try to sell screenplays. so we did that for a while and just kind of followed that. and when you were questioning jen about, like, the road not taken and these things like, "do you have regrets about things you'd like to be doing?" the thing is you go and you try them and you see what they're like. so now i know what it's like to go to l.a. and try to grind it out selling screenplays, and that makes me a lot more... i don't know, not resolved-- actually, just happier with the decisions i've made to get here. where if i hadn't tried that i'd still be thinking about it. i'm feeling a little warm. [laughter] ♪ (tina) i always knew myself as an adventurous person, but i this trip really made me see that i really love, these new experiences. i would say 95% of the places we've been, i've never been before. just seeing all these different, new geographies, ways of living, have just been really mind-expanding. (calvin) we're going to go wash the rv. it hasn't been washed at all since we've had it, and there's a power washer! sweet! ♪ [rv horn honking] [laughter] (calvin) i really like the road. what's nice about is that we're moving and we're seeing so many places but we're changing together. and there's a constant, and the constant is us. it's nice. ♪ (calvin) so nobody's going in the jacuzzi? (tina) are you? (vanessa) it's not a jacuzzi, it's a public fountain! (tina) it's not even warm! [laughter] (calvin) when people talk to us and say, "don't waste time finding out what it is that you love"-- i realized that with traveling i'm gaining so much time. like...so much time. (vanessa) calvin...he's just always like, "yeah, guys, let's do this, and i don't know if it's going to be okay but we're just going to do it." and, i'm trying to learn from him, because i want to learn from him. how to just already have the confidence, like, walking into something. that was the perfect thing after dinner, a nice nightcap. [laughter} (calvin) goodnight. (tina) goodnight. (vanessa) goodnight. [loud construction sounds] [loud construction sounds] ♪ jazz music (calvin) well, i just got a call from karen anderson, who is the secretary of greg carroll. greg carroll is the c.e.o. of the american jazz museum here in kansas city, missouri, and she just called us back and said he has time right now until 3:30. (tina) he sounds really interesting, especially since he works with education and music. (vanessa) and he's a vibraphone artist. (tina) a vibraphone? (calvin) what's a vibraphone? what is this wonderful team waiting for me out here? [laughter] this wonderfully patient team. hi, i'm greg carroll hi, i' vaness. what made you pick the american jazz museum? i really love jazz music. i'm a studio fine artist but i listen to jazz because it really helps me be spontaneous and creative. i thought it would be great to speak with somebody who is here. i like calvin, he's my man! [laughter] what drew you to jazz initially? when i grew up in denver, colorado, we used to-- on fridays my dad and uncle ford, who was really mr. ford, everybody was uncle or aunt, you know? everybody grew everybody's kids up, right? so mr. ford, or uncle ford, and dad were on the porch. they would always listen to this great jazz station called kadx. and one friday i just saw what they were doing, they were having the best time-- laughing and listening to this great music. i said, "can i do that with you next week?" and they said, "okay, son." so that next friday my dad, they had a little corn pipe for me. you know one of them little candy-- you know, like a little bubble gum thing? so i felt like i was a big man. you know, i was a little kid-- i remember the first artist i heard was ella fitzgerald. she was singing... [sings] " a tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket ." [humming song] now as a kid i resonated with that 'cause it was a nursery rhyme, and i said, [excitedly] "ooh, i just love that music! i wanna play that music!" and then the next recording, the next album, i heard was lionel hampton playing... [hums beat] i'm gonna walk over here. i heard him playing, um... so i heard him playing, um... [plays melody] ♪ and i said, [excitedly] "ahhh!" i said, "i wanna play that instrument!" [laughter] and so, my dad and mom got together, they heard me... i had a little 'bitty keyboard, and i picked it up by ear. and my mom went, "george, your son has a little talent, there." pretty soon i started playing piano in elementary school. we couldn't afford piano lessons so i took 'em for free in the school district. and my teacher looked at me and said, "son, have you ever heard of the vibraphone?". i said, "no, is that that instrument that lionel hampton plays?", and he said, "yes!" i said, "that's the instrument i wanna play!", and he says, "we're gonna get you a vibraphone." and denver public schools bought their vibraphone. it followed me all the way through school, and that's how i started playing the instrument. [playing vibraphone] all you hear is notes! so, i actually came to sort of a reckoning in my life at a very early age. i think i was 16 or 17 years old, and it was the last time that i worked at a fast-food restaurant. and i remember on that friday before i quit, that i said that was the last time i was gonna ask anybody if they wanted fries with that coke. what do your parents say, or what did your parents say, when you first said that you just were giving up-- working at mcdonald's to be a jazz musician? exactly, exactly. [laughter] yeah, well, um, i was real fortunate in that my parents always believed in pushing us to do what we wanted to do, but making sure that we tried to do it at the highest level. now, i can tell you that when i came up in my early years, as an educator, i would often get a little disheartened, and i would never, of course, tell them. when i would hear parents tell my students that, "you know, you've gotta grow up and get a real job." you know? because what that does is that: first, you just minimized me in the position that i'm in, because i call it a real job. it's buying groceries, and paying my mortgage, and paying my light bill, and paying for my car payment every month. that's a real job that does that, and it's-- i would think that a real job that is a successful job for someone is a job that's driven by their passion and their love, and not a job that's just there because you're getting the paycheck. so, that's one example of a whole bunch, i won't keep going though. [laughs] do you have an example of when you weren't sure whether or not you were going to continue with music, or you were at a crossroads? 'cause sometimes i feel like i'm there. i don't know if i'm going to continue with art or if i'm going to do more of something else. i've had a couple of moments where i've had to question, "is this really what i want to do?" only because, either...you know, that age-old human yearning of "i want it all, and i want it all now, and if i don't get it then i'm not going to do it." so i had to get over that, and realize that getting it all may never be achievable, and that's okay because that doesn't define success. for example, i've had to often tell students that, and i've had to be mindful of it myself, that if i don't become a world-famous jazz vibraphonist, it's not going to be the end of my music career. that's not the only thing i can do in music, is play an instrument. i can be an executive, i can work hard around the scenes, i can be a manager, an arts manager, i can go into production. being successful is a pursuit. it's the process that was more important to me than the outcome, than the product, i think. so, keep that light shining,you know? i always remember, "this little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine." always keep that light going, because the minute that you let it dim, i think passion goes with it, and then you might as well go to mcdonald's and ask somebody, "do you want fries with that?" (calvin) step on up. (greg) alright! (greg) "let your light shine and keep swingin'." all the best. your fan, gregory a. carroll. (tina) aw, thank you so much. fives! [laughter] (tina) all these different leaders we've been talking to are extremely powerful people, and they're people that i would have held up to a level higher than me, so i would never have tried to contact them otherwise. and i've really realized that that boundary that i've given them, or that pedestal that i've put them on, was just really useless. (calvin) we're supposed to be at our next interview at 4 'o clock, and it's 4:23. oh, straight. (calvin) i am afraid of being wrong, so i hate being in the navigator's position because i don't want to be the one who gets us lost, and we get lost in every city. (calvin) okay, thanks. (tina) make a right? (calvin) i guess. (tina) liberty? make a left or right on liberty? i don't...know. (tina) oh, this is 12th street. oh, right?... it was that, there? yeah, it wa. pull around here. it should be right away, it's called-- (tina) oh here it is. 1409. two tone press. oh, i just got a text message. michelle says, "no problem. i'm in my studio all evening so take your time. michelle". (calvin) i'm really interested in printmaking, so i said, "well, i'll be an art major." being around colors and materials that have the potential to be turned into something really valuable, spiritually or just culturally, that's what i like doing. hi. (vanessa) hi!! (michelle) i had done this type of letterpress printing, and like, trying out the machines, when i was in school. and i was originally in illustration, and then the department wasn't going where i wanted it to so i switched to printmaking, which is when i really got into it. as soon as i graduated i had no idea what i was doing. i had toyed with moving away and going to grad school, but i wasn't sure. so, i had interned at a letterpress shop my senior year. after working for several years, and really getting exposed to the process and really learning all the little nitty gritty stuff, i moved in here and, you know, we had all this space. so i decided at that point that i wanted to have a shop. and that was after, like, many coffee shop conversations with friends where we're sitting around smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee and doodling, you know, and like, "what do you see yourself doing? what, ultimately, do you want to have?" and i was like, "i want to have my own shop." and so, it just...once i started looking it was just like it found me. before you made the decision that you were going to open up your own shop, was it something that you always kind of always thought about, but you also followed it with, like, a reason not to? i just got to a point where i just felt like i was waiting for something, and it's like-- and then i just decided... i'm not really sure what i'm waiting for. i mean, time passes so fast. you're just sitting there, thinking about, like, "what do i want to do?", and then it's like five years later. and it's like, "i could have been doing something this whole time!" so when i decided to start my own shop, i had no idea exactly what was going to happen, but it's like, it was better than waiting for the right moment, because there's never a right moment. i just knew that if i wanted to do something... i just wanted to do it now and just get started. and so, like, how was it for your parents? how was that? well, my dad was just like, he's just, "whatever." and then my mom, who's korean, she supported me. she just asked me what i wanted to do. and i was like, "this is what i want to do." but now, it's like, she sees that i don't have much money and so every now and then it's like, "i should have made you be a doctor", as if i was actually considering being a doctor. as if those words came out of my mouth. i had never once said i wanted to be a doctor, but because i'm not making the money that she thinks i should be making, now it's like, "well, you should have done something else." every now and then i'll show her something, and she'll be like, [surprised] "you did this? you drew that?" [laughs] and i'm like, "yeah..." it's like, "i have skills." [laughter] (michelle) so then, this is sort of taking these original ideas of using these patterns that i created through looking at scientific diagrams and then taking it a step further where now i have an actual concept with the dna strands. (calvin) what kind is this? um, this one is what we were when we were all the same . so it's just...it's a little hard for her to comprehend exactly what it is i do. some of my friends, and my sister especially, doesn't understand how it is that i survive at all. 'cause it's like, i kind of live paycheck-to-paycheck and sometimes bills are due-- but, i mean, i don't have much. i don't need much. i'd rather sacrifice comforts and, you know, fancy toasters for doing what i want, when i want. i don't know, i think people think about stuff too much. it's like, i mean, do you really want to spend years thinking about what you want to do, or do you want to actually do something? i mean, just try something. at least something's better than nothing. (michelle) i said, "just take a leap." (tina) thank you so much. (calvin) what was it like for you, tina, when she said her mother doesn't really appreciate what she does as much as if she was a doctor? it's so funny 'cause i feel like michelle's background with her parents is so similar to my background with my parents, take a veryother would conventional job.ust and it's because i don't think she understands what i'm doing. i just need to follow my path and my vision, and know that it's leading me to a place where i'll be happy and successful. my parents will understand at a point, but i don't feel like they understand now. (calvin) starting out with this trip i was under the impression that it was just going to be a lot of fun, and i was going to meet a lot of cool people, and they were going to be very inspiring. and then i felt a shift where now i'm starting to really wonder: how is this trip changing me for the future? which i feel like is what i think i'm going to be really thinking about these last ten days. it would be great to be in your position-- to be 22 or 23 and have things just sort of wide open. i mean, there's so much freedom in that. (vanessa) one of the things about this trip, i've heard different advice at different points of my life about should you make plans and should you not, and it's something that you really have to decide for yourself. like, do you want to go ahead and say, "for the next year i'm going to be doing this for three months", and then do you just take things as they come to you? like, what kind of balance can you find that works for you? you have to keep working in the process of waiting for opportunities to arise because opportunities arise and the question is whether or not you're ready for them. (tina) i feel like i may not know exactly what my endpoint is, or if there even is an endpoint. but throughout this trip i feel like i've learned that being an open person and compassionate person and just keeping your intentions at very basic levels leads to opportunities that will help me grow. (greg) on your tombstone at the end of the day, they're gonna see three things: they're gonna see your birthdate, they're gonna see that dash, and they're gonna see your death date. the front and the back: they're done. but the thing that has the most importance to me is that dash. what happened in your life during the time you were born to the time you passed away? what defined you as a person? (female announcer roadtrip nation extends beyond the program you just watched. it's a movement that includes students creating their own roadtrip experiences. here's a snapshot of the movement in the classroom. (female #3 i have anxiety about what's going to happen in the future. like, am i going to love my job? (male #2) career-wise, there's so many options that it's mind-boggling. i'm thinking about one thing and i could be thinking something else tomorrow. we're going to interview mary catherine swanson. she's the founder of avid. she's all about helping you get to college and do something that you love doing. i think it's really cool and i look up to her as a role model. (saban) i'm, like, freaking out. i'm kind of nervous. very nice to meet you. (mary) we can do different things in our lives as long as we stay focused on our passions. because if you don't, it becomes just a job, and that's not an exciting life. you want a life where you're excited about what you do that doesn't mean there won't be ups and downs. there will be ups and downs, but you will have learned determination. everybody has doubts, and the important thing is how do you get to the next place? how do you pick yourself up? (elizabeth) she kind of connected with all of us. at one point she was talking to me, and then saban, and eduardo, and then rosemberg. it was really cool she gave advice to each one of us. (rosemberg) now i have a clearer image of what i want to do, especially with the determination thing. now it's really got me hyped up and excited. (calvin) we only have two days left of our trip. (kitty) when you're following your desire there is a natural creative industry that comes with th, and you're just armed with it, you're born with it. (the knux) we never felt normal. we never fit into the mold of the 9 to 5. we always went against the grain. always. we never understood why we were always going against the grain. (daniela) at the end you realize: yes, i'm giving something, but it's much more what i'm receiving. (female announcer) to watch more interviews from the road and listen to the music that keeps us driving, visit www.roadtripnation.com. online you can learn more about the movement and how to bring the experience into your classroom. (female announcer) state farm has made it possible for this documentary series to be shared on public television stations across the country. roadtrip nation would like to sincerely thank our friends at state farm for helping a nation of young people define their own roads in life. like a good neighbor, state farm is there. (male announcer) roadtrip nation would also like to thank the college board for supporting this series. the college board: connect to college success. (male announcer) roadtrip nation is also made possible by at&t: helping connect students to success in school, in the workforce, and in life.