*Editor's Note: Since I wrote this, I have packed up all of my belongings and placed them in storage. I now am living on the road entirely.
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So here it goes…
I am writing this blog post after almost three years of silence (aka,
a much needed break) from a place of rebirth. But I use the term ‘rebirth’ for a loosely.
When I was younger, I travelled to 14 countries prior to the
age of 16. I often think that those experiences I was lucky enough to be exposed to were wasted on an adolescent, however, in my adult years I realize they only added
immense value to my education of culture in addition to sparking my desire for
more.
I moved across the country by myself to work two jobs so I could pay my way through
college at the age of 19.
After graduation I navigated my way through sales jobs, marketing, retail, the
aggressive fashion industry and the dawn of social media until I found myself
working as a ‘blogger’.
As a self-employed and self-managed influencer, I spent most of my days
conceptualizing content and cold calling brands for collaborations while
building a following. I found myself creating grandiose campaigns for brands
that included days of travel, months of production time, not to mention an
abundance of creative freedom. I believe this was the catalyst to jumpstart my long-lost
desire wanderlust.
Utilizing the voice of the brand that I had now created for myself, I decided
to incorporate my need to travel into my work. But as much as I would be ‘on
the road’ I never seemed to satisfy the hunger for absorbing culture and
society with the appropriate rapaciousness. I would often think to myself,
‘more, I want to see more. I want to go further.’
I took a break from traveling to get my life in order and reassess what was
important to me. I asked myself, ‘why do I want to do this, for what purpose
and to what end?’ That’s when I realized my brand had taken a turn away from
being ‘me’ and into a channel and avenue for product promotion that wasn’t
providing my bohemian soul with much fulfillment.
So instead, I decided to begin to travel without sponsorship, remiss of
collaborating. I would travel to places I actually wanted to visit, take the
time to absorb what I came there for in the first place. I found myself
actually living the moments in lieu of capturing them.
That’s when I realized....I’ve accomplished a lot! I have hiked 10 miles in the
snow to reach a glacier in the dead of winter in Colorado at 10,000 feet
elevation. I have pranced in the white sand dunes of New Mexico. I have sat
front row New York fashion week and had my picture taken by the late and great
Bill Cunningham. I’ve ridden the merry-go-round at Coney Island...and Central
Park...and Paris. I’ve played piano to a bar of strangers in Dublin, Ireland.
I’ve snuck into an abandoned smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island in the
middle of the night. I’ve sat in the field where Henry Miller wrote Tropic of
Cancer. I’ve attempted to find Ferlingetti’s cabin in Big Sur. I’ve had beers
in some of Bukowski’s old haunts. I’ve ridden a motorcycle through deserts,
mountains and along coastal highways. I have bribed a Manhattan doorman with
pizza to allow me to sneak onto a fabled rooftop farm only to find out it was
all true. I have swum with turtles in Hawaii and jumped off cliffs into waters
where World War II remnants remain just below. I have hiked 8miles over flowing
lava in converse to the oceans edge just to see an active volcano flowing into
the water. I’ve ridden horseback in Mexico and Malibu. Run through fields
bursting with poppies in California. Built a home for a family in Argentina and
Fiji. Attended a silent piano concert on the beach at midnight. I’ve ran for
miles along the Mississippi River in the middle of Summer. Camped for countless
days in freezing temperatures as well as scorching. I’ve hung off the edge of
Horse Bend and wandered through the mazes of Antelope Canyon. Walked proudly
among my fellow women (and men) in protest for a brighter future. Explored the
Cuban home of Earnest Hemingway and where he wrote ‘Old Man and the Sea’. I’ve
participated in ancient kava ceremonies with Fijian tribes. Swam with sharks in
open waters. Run through the streets of Paris with little sleep. Hiked miles in
the wrong direction to finally find solace in natural hot springs. I’ve done
yoga with goats and slept a mere 100 yards from wild bears in Yosemite. I’ve
crawled over slippery rocks just to sit at the bed of a waterfall.
I’ve done so much....and I’ve barely just begun....this is 33.
More to come.