An Introduction to My Blog

The influence of a teacher

In 2017, my junior year of high school, I had the most incredible English teacher: Ms. MacDonald, fondly known as Ms. Mac or Mac Attack. She took no bullshit from anyone and taught us not to take bullshit from anyone either. Which meant she was always brutally honest. The shy 5-year-old version of me was intimidated by her, but young-adult me was inspired by her, challenged by her. She played a pivotal part in my growth as a person and as a writer. 

Many things Ms. Mac said to me have stuck with me even five years later. The day she asked me what I want to do with my life is one I’ll always think about. All I’ve ever wanted was to write and to travel—that was my answer.

She was quick to caution me against the belief that traveling is simply a fun, frivolous, care-free hobby. She told me that it can be frustrating and unexpected and dangerous, and it’s not merely sunshine and rainbows in the way that so many people dress up their travels.

I’ll always be grateful for her insight; it prepared me for the honesty of traveling and it prompted me to talk honestly about my traveling, lest I give people the wrong impression of what it’s really like. 

The truth about travel

With traveling, there’s always the good and the bad. What matters is what you can get out of every experience despite its perceived quality. Connections made, mistakes made, lessons learned, sights seen, comfort zones pushed, limits pushed, thoughts and beliefs challenged—these are the gifts of traveling. And maybe it’ll take me a little longer to fully believe this myself, but the mistakes, the tricky situations, the discomfort…I don’t think any of it is bad.

I can’t say that I’ve never been caught off guard, because I still create perfect expectations in my mind and the alternative outcomes end up surprising me. But with every journey I learn a little more and I learn how to adapt. I could’ve let Ms. Mac’s words discourage me and tossed away my dream because I wasn’t tough enough for it. I didn’t have what it takes, I wasn’t enough in any aspect. At least, that was what I used to tell myself.

Instead, I took Ms. Mac’s words as what they were—words of caution, words of advice, words to prepare me, words to really make me contemplate what I want out of traveling. I used her words as a foundation instead of a deterrent. And that made all the difference.

What it comes down to

So in the same way I can’t lie to myself, I will not lie to you. Here on this site you will find all my thoughts, my realizations, my bad bitch moments, the times when I cried, my mistakes and things I wish I did differently, situations that turned out better than I could’ve hoped, and everything in between. The way I experience it, I will share with you. I don’t see the point in showing the lie of posts with only smiling pictures and positive retellings of adventures and leaving out the rest—leaving out the truth and heart of it all. Because where’s the fun in that?