About Me

To start it all off, I’m originally from New York (Long Island to be exact). I grew up a very active child who always loved to try new things and challenge myself. My constant craving for new experiences has accelerated me from chapter to chapter in my life at a pretty exciting pace. At the same time, in quite the juxtaposition, I also happen to have a personality that favors stability and rationality above all else. From bookworm child to sleep-deprived student to professional engineer, my career path has followed a rather practical route that has rocketed me to ‘adulthood’. That being said, my appetite for adventure has found footing in the head-spinning travel itinerary that I have etched in the margins of my responsible 9-5 agenda. The personal growth that comes from discovering new areas, people and cultures is one of the most satisfying achievements imaginable. The difference that travel has made in my life is unquantifiable and it is something I could not fathom my days without. But let’s pause there… for as much as nomad-life is the norm now, it hasn’t always been that way; not by a longshot.

Throughout my whole childhood I had been on just two roundtrip flights. By junior year of college, I had only racked up one more family flight to California. I craved adventure and jealously stared at solo trekkers making their way through the terminal while I asked my parents how TSA lines worked. As the years went on, my wanderlust began to bubble below the surface of a very nervous and shy exterior. It all came to a head in my junior year of college when I was choosing between summer internships. For three years at that point I had lived and attended a college just thirty minutes west of my hometown, and interned at a company thirty minutes east of my hometown. Put a pin on the map and circle 25 miles around Rocky Point, NY and there I was. Existing in a familiar bubble was comfort in its coziest form, but comfort swiftly becomes quicksand when complacency makes its silent entrance… and I could see it in my periphery. At that point I made a choice to intern right smack-dab in the American mid-west - Fort Wayne, Indiana. While I can’t say that this was my first choice of location for independent expedition number one, it was nothing short of amazing. The experiences that I had in Fort Wayne changed my perspectives, my life plan, and my heart. I learned about how independent I could be when miles away from my support system. I learned that sometimes we need to be by ourselves to truly understand our ourselves, and that being lonely is not the same thing as being alone. And most importantly, I learned how the right people can make even the cornfields of Indiana feel like home to a New Yorker.

I left a little bit of my heart in Indiana. Furthermore, I’ve left a little bit of my heart in every place I’ve ever been. Nosara, Costa Rica. Cornwall, England. Uiig, Scotland. There is something to love and learn in all corners of the world; that is what makes travel so impactful. My introduction to solo travel was a nerve-wracking 13 hour car ride to Indiana. This trip was closely followed by a meticulously planned flight to visit an uncle in Florida. When I tell you I arrived 4 hours early for a domestic flight at an airport the size of your standard supermarket… I am not exaggerating. When I tell you I spent hours studying the terminal maps and googling how check in a bag prior to my flight… I am not exaggerating. With my penchant for needless worry, it is a miracle I got past the planning stage of travel. I should really be a struggling L.A. screenwriter with the amount of action-packed, worst-case-scenario plotlines I pitch myself. Anyway, all this is to say that if an anxiety ridden, experience-lacking 22 year old can become a part time nomad, so can you. It’s worth it, I promise.

So with that I bring your attention to the present moment. Today. I’ve gotten quite a few years of frequent travel under my belt, gained a great deal more confidence in my independence, and here we are. 26 year old me, sitting in bed, preparing to take a few months off work to travel around Europe, and starting an online record of it all. I want my family and friends to be able to share in this journey of mine. I’m not quite sure where all this will go, but I look forward to checking in here. I plan to share not only stories and photos, but also words of travel wisdom I’ve learned, cool lyrics I've heard, interesting facts I’ve come across, and many more random tidbits. I hope you enjoy following along in this adventure!