PURPLE BUDDHA PROJECT

The

B Y F O R R E S T C U R R A N

P R E S E N T I N G

A B O U T U S/ O U R S T O R Y

As a kid, I never got to know what a summer break was like. My parentswe're determined that I learn about Japanese culture even though we

lived in the states, so from kindergarten to the end of high school, Iattended school in Texas, as well as in Japan during the summer forthree months out of every year. Because Texas culture is the polar

opposite of culture in Tokyo, I learned to be open as a youth in order tobalance the two worlds in my life.

Rebirth From Depression

I went to college like a lot of people, and I suppose likemany people, I found out that college wasn't all that I

expected. During this time I went through difficult timesand depression, and it was during this darker periodthat I had started a personal blog called the PurpleBuddha Project as a personal antecedent of mine.

I felt a calling for me to travel the world,and I hoped that self-created alonetime would help guide me back to the

happiness that I once knew. I listenedto the beat of my heart and knew it spoketrue, and so I set out on a backpackingjourney alone consisting of 365 days,

through 10 countries, in 57 cities,sleeping in 3 airports during transit,

riding 107 buses, and creating countlessmemories of a lifetime.

A year being alone trekking aroundthe world didn’t make me smarter orgive me more wisdom, but was a yearlong effort into understanding what

happiness meant to me on apersonal level.

During my trip to Cambodia, I learned that Cambodia was oneof the most bombed countries in the history of mankind and

I kinda had a "WTF" moment. I learned about a group ofartisans who were designing jewelry from upcycled weapons

of conflict in this country. They were hard workers, butlacked organization and modern day design input.

I felt like I could do something here.

The ReturnA friend was the first to tell meabout Kickstarter shortly after

getting back home from my trip.Being a 20 year old at the timewith no investors, no funds, andin truth not too much of an idea

how to make my ideas into reality,I figured why not? Thus the

upcycled weapons of conflictjewelry became one with the

Purple Buddha Project.

T H E   T U M B L R   C O M M U N I T YS A W   W H A T   I   W A S   D O I N G   A N DI M M E D I A T E L Y   G O T   B E H I N DM Y   B A C K .   I T   W A S   T R U L Y   AH U M B L I N G   M O M E N T   F O R   M ET O   H A V E   T H E   S U P P O R T   O F

S O   M A N Y   P E O P L E   F R O MF R O M   A R O U N D   T H E   W O R L DE S P E C I A L L Y   A F T E R   G O I N G

T H R O U G H   Y E A R S   O FD E P R E S S I O N   A N D   S E L F ­H A T E .   I N   O N E   M O N T H   W E

R A I S E D   O V E R   $ 2 0 , 0 0 0

Positivity MarketingThe project has largely beensuccessful due to our theory:

positivity is viral. Rather than withtraditional marketing of ads, we

focus on injecting positivity contentinto social media, a place that has

increasingly become negative.

GROWING PROCESSOVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS I WAS FLYING BACK AND FORTH FROM

CAMBODIA DURING THE SUMMER BREAKS AND WINTER BREAKS OF COLLEGE

AND MORE OR LESS IT WAS TIME TO MAKE SOME TOUGH LIFE DECISIONS.

DROPPING OUT OF COLLEGE (MY DAD IS A PROFESSOR AS WELL) AND

TURNING DOWN A JOB THAT OFFERED ME FIVE TIMES WHAT I WAS MAKING

WITH THE PROJECT, I MADE CAMBODIA AND THE PROJECT MY LIFE.

And so, I wentthrough some ofthe hardest &most beautiful

times of my life.

After years of strugglesand countless tears, after

years of doubting andquestioning myself, and

years of depression; I wasreally living the life I had

always dreamed of.

Growth is found inpain and hurt

Overall I haven’t changed muchfrom the giddy kid on his firstbackpacking trip, but what I will sayis that I am a much more happierperson today because of the risks Itook. I live a most fulfilling life withthe good and bad that happens in athird world country, and feel mostblessed to be doing what I dotoday. If I’ve learned anything overthe years, it is that your true pathlies in what you fear to do. 

“IN THE END THESE THINGSMATTER MOST: HOW WELLDID YOU LOVE? HOW FULLYDID YOU LIVE? HOW DEEPLY

DID YOU LET GO?”- B U D D H A

P U R P L E   B U D D H A   P R O J E C T