I still remember the crushing weight of my backpack the first time I landed in Europe. I was twenty-two, terrified, and convinced that the secret to solo travel survival lay in bringing everything I owned. I had packed extra shoes I never wore, a massive hair dryer, and enough emergency supplies to stock a small…
I still remember the heavy, suffocating feeling of standing in the middle of my tiny New York apartment years ago, staring at a massive, overstuffed suitcase. I was preparing for one of my first big solo trips across Europe. I had packed for every single worst-case scenario. I had four pairs of heavy jeans, three…
I still remember the crushing weight of my first giant backpack. I was standing on a crowded subway platform in New York, getting ready to head to the airport for my first solo backpacking trip across Europe. I had packed everything. I had extra shoes I never wore, massive bottles of shampoo, three heavy cotton…
There is a specific moment during a road trip when the romantic dream of travel collides hard with reality. For me, it happened on a terrifyingly narrow road in County Kerry. The Atlantic Ocean crashed against jagged cliffs hundreds of feet below my left tire. On my right, a ancient stone wall stood centimeters from…
Have you ever stared at your computer screen at work, watching the clock tick down to five o’clock, and felt like you were wasting your life away? I know that exact feeling. Before I started this blog, I sat at a boring office desk in New York City. My bosses told me I had to…
I remember exactly where I was when I decided my life needed to change. I was sitting at a gray desk in a corporate office in New York. I had a Master’s degree in my hand and a tiny paycheck in my bank account. Outside the window, the city was loud and gray. Inside, I…
Have you ever stared at the fluorescent lights of your office cubicle and felt like your life was ticking away in spreadsheets? I know that feeling intimately. A few years ago, I was sitting at a corporate desk in New York City. On paper, I had a successful life. I had a master’s degree in…
Have you ever sat at your office desk, staring at a dull spreadsheet, while your heart quietly broke? I know that feeling intimately. Years ago, I was living in New York, trapped in a corporate job that felt like a cage. They told me I could only take two weeks of vacation a year. Two…
I remember the exact moment I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. I was sitting at my corporate desk in New York, staring at a spreadsheet that seemed to go on forever. My boss had just told me I couldn’t take three weeks off because I hadn’t been there long enough. I felt like a…