You Have Found an Old Diary

Hi. I’m Andre Sólo. From 2010-2016, I kept this blog as a diary of my travels. I went through a period of giving up my old life and career, building a life of travel on the road, and starting my new life as a writer.

During the years that the blog was active, I explored several topics close to my heart:

• My own spiritual journey to meet and understand the gods, whatever they are
• The philosophy of heroism, and how to incorporate the values of our heroes into our own lives
• The process of finding, and exploring, my purpose in life

I contemplated — and wrote about — these topics while I walked, bicycled, and paddled 4,700 miles across the U.S. and Mexico. This was part of a lifelong dream, and I intend to return to this journey in the future. However, right now I am focused on writing.

Why is the blog private?

In 2021, I made the difficult choice to make (most of) this site private.

The reason is simple: people change.

I stand by the ideals and philosophy that I wrote about at Rogue Priest, and the years that I adventured are one of the happiest periods of my life. However, I was young, and on re-reading my past words, I’m struck by how much my views and personality have grown. Rogue Priest captured the spirit of a man who believed the right things in his heart but still had a lot to learn. That young man will always be part of who I am, but the person I am today would challenge him in ways he wasn’t ready for.

I believe that one of the best things we can do in life is to change our minds, to expand our views, to acknowledge where we were ignorant or naïve and do better. One small way of doing that is correcting one’s own writing. As I do not have the time to re-edit the 525 posts that make up Rogue Priest, for now, I am simply putting them away.

The things that I stood for, however, remain unchanged: pluralism, equality, feminism, anti-racism, a rejection of religious bigotry, a desire to learn from many cultures and viewpoints, the belief that humans can act heroically, and a desire to challenge myself and constantly improve.

For those who were with me on that journey, my heart goes out to you, and thank you for every breath of support you’ve given me.

To those who have taught me, challenged me, and helped me grow: thank you for your patience and wisdom.

When the journey continues, I am sure I will document it in some way.

Wrapping Up Loose Ends

For those who followed me on my journey, you deserve a bit of epilogue. Here’s where things have ended up:

My work with the philosophy of heroism led to a role with the Heroic Imagination Project, the foremost research & educational organization in the growing field of heroism science. To learn about heroism, I recommend you start with them.

Exploring my purpose in life led me to a successful career as an author. I have a nonfiction book coming out in 2022, and I may update this space with details when it’s available. I also run two large online publications: Sensitive Refuge and Introvert, Dear.

My spiritual journey led to its own breakthroughs, but that’s a story for another time.

Last, but never least, my bicycle The Giant is still with me. Right now he’s leaned up against the wall near my door. He’s still a good steed, and he troubles me daily about when we’ll pick up the Adventure.

Until then —

All my love,

Andre