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The thing about wealth is, it always brings money to mind. But what if wealth isn’t just about assets and currency? What if it’s more than that. What if it’s how my time is spent, who I make memories with, what type of food and clothes I have access to. What if wealth is happiness, freedom. I can spend my life trying to accumulate as much conventional wealth as possible. I can save up for a house and a car, build a business that increases my net worth. But it’s important to r

This is the reason I do things right? My motives, maybe my intentions. For some reason, a lot of those motives are contingent on another person. I want to reach out to an old friend, but what if they don’t answer? I want to clean up my mom’s house, but what if she doesn’t appreciate it? I want to give that homeless guy some money, but what if he uses it to buy drugs? See the problem here? I want to do these things, but since I can’t guarantee someone reacting the way I’d like

Why is happiness always so elusive? When I wanted freedom in high school, I told myself that I’d be happy once I was an adult. In college, I just wanted more friends. When I got more friends, I needed more money so we could do things. Then, if I could just take some time off to travel, I would be happy. Well, here I am. I’m an adult. I have tons of friends. I have money in the bank. And I just spent a year traveling. Now what? My current desire is an online job. Something tha

I‘ve been struggling to be content here, so here are some things I can’t have while traveling and that I’ve been taking for granted recently. They really do deserve my full appreciation and love. Spending time with my nephew. Now we can have sleepovers, I can pick him up from school and I can pack his lunch in the morning. Going on walks with my grandpa. I missed our long talks about everything and nothing. Dairy Queen blizzards. Self explanatory. Having a kitchen to cook a f

It’s such a weird feeling to be in the place I’ve called home for 24 years and be homesick. Homesick for the life I’ve had the past year. To look around at people and places that I’ve always known and feel so strange. My head is somewhere else, pieces of my heart sprinkled across oceans. The hardest part is the weight that sat on my shoulders as soon as I landed. Traveling, I could sit on the beach for hours, listen to reggae and enjoy being alive. Here? I sit and do nothing

Lately I’ve been struggling between my responsibility to my family and to myself. Who comes first? I’ve always been a family girl, most of my days in Ohio are spent playing games and laughing with my family. I love them with my whole heart. I’ve been blessed to grow up in a tight knit community. This is the longest time I’ve ever been away from them. When I started traveling, they all wanted a date that I’d be back. In my head, 9 months was long enough. I thought by September

If you would’ve asked me 4 years ago what my life plan was, I would have probably given you a pretty defined answer. I wanted to land a job that paid well and would relocate me. My top priorities were money and growth opportunities in a stable career. Why is that? Society tells us that security is the most important and happiness can only sprout from this. It teaches us to associate safety and comfort with money and fulfillment with belongings- all things we’re told a job wil

What happens when a person simultaneously has a fear of missing out and a fear of disappointing herself? She gets overwhelmed easily, spends maybe too much time in reflection trying to make sense of the confusion, and then she writes about it. As a bubbly solo traveler, this looks like saying yes to a night full of plans even when I know I won’t have fun. I say yes, then have a terrible time. The entire night, I kick myself for not having more fun, for not talking to more peo

It’s always nice to go somewhere for a certain desired experience- the touristy things that everyone suggests. I’ve gone to Belize specifically for the snorkeling, India to learn yoga, France to see the Eiffel Tower. But what I’ve come to realize is I don’t care nearly as much for these things as I do the people I’ve met and grown to love while traveling. I thought I traveled for the experiences, but really, I travel for the people. What makes a trip memorable and special for

I’ve always always always loved to sing. I sing everywhere, but never for other people. Even when I gain the confidence to do some karaoke, I choose a song that I don’t actually have to hit the notes on, just something that everyone knows and can vibe to. But I’ve always had this dream of being able to sing in front of people, Miley Cyrus style. Showing my personality through the songs, raspy low vibes, enjoying the time & entertaining people with my voice. After 25 years of

You know what solves most of the problems we have with each other? Honest and open communication. You know what most people avoid? Honest and open communication. Why is this? Maybe it’s just easier to assume people’s intentions. Maybe we are too uncomfortable to have the conversations we need to understand better. Maybe we like making other people out to be the villain. The villain we create allows us to avoid the vulnerability of asking for the truth. I absolutely know how c

Love has been on my mind a lot lately. Watching rom coms left and right, I’ve realized one of my biggest fears in this life is to waste years being dishonest with myself and the people around me. To be unhappy in a relationship because I don’t have the courage to tell the truth. To remember someone that I should’ve fought for but let go of. The only way I can avoid this is by expressing myself fully. Maybe it makes me vulnerable to tell people how I feel. To walk around with

Traveling is beautiful. It’s enriching, breathtaking, exciting, and gives lifetime memories. The side that isn’t shown is the hard goodbyes. The emptiness that I feel when I part ways with amazing people. The hard transition from hanging out with the same friends and feeling comfortable to starting over again in a new place. I know this is the price I have to pay. If I want to meet tons of cool people, I have to realize it’s going to be in passing. Knowing this beforehand doe

Each day while backpacking looks a bit different. For me, it’s a happy mix between type A and B behavior. Weeks at a time can flow with ease, not a single care about plans. Not choosing anything in advance. I wake up and as the day goes on, things come up. Maybe I meet another traveler that I join for a sunset hike. If I have an idea for the day but something else is proposed, I flow. Maybe I cancel plans and stay home. Super flexible and adaptable, type B vibes. There are ot

What an umbrella term for so many feelings and emotions, right? I want to go sit with that group of girls and make friends but I’m too anxious. I want to complete my to-do list but it’s so long and overwhelming, and now I’m anxious. I want to start traveling but the thought of it makes me anxious. What does being anxious really mean? It means to have fear of the uncertain future. I get anxious before putting myself out there because what if those girls don’t like me? I get an