Whether it’s a long term ex you can’t get over, an old friends with benefits, a situationship that lasted far too long, or some guy you met at a party once and who you only hear from every few months at 2:00am—we all have that person who’s just no damn good for us. Yet we all have moments when, for one reason or another, we get that urge to reach out to them even though we know ultimately it won’t lead to anything good.

The first thing that caught my eye were the colors—copper red roof tiles, ultramarine mansions, goldenrod shophouses—the city is a complete visual feast. I spent the next week on my feet determined to not leave a single floor tile or paint chipped turquoise door left unseen. I came home with thousands of photos and as I was sorting through them I noticed shades of blue were a recurring theme. Indigo, aquamarine, pewter, periwinkle, cobalt—George Town does a fantastic job of displaying hues of blue you never even knew you loved until you see them. Since blue is my favorite color I wanted to create a post dedicated to all the shades of blue I discovered on my recent trip to George Town. If you love this calming color as much as I do then settle in and scroll your way to Zen.

This time last year I was getting ready to board the plane at LAX that would take me to the other side of the world where I would begin my new life. I arrived at the airport about four hours early, not wanting to take a single chance of missing my flight. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I somehow felt really calm and at ease that day. I had done absolutely everything I could possibly do to prepare—I had the universal adapter, I made extra copies of all my documents, I bought a new travel backpack designed to meet international carry on requirements, I made all the arrangements, I crossed the items off my to do list, I did all the research. All there was left for me to do was get on that plane and be open to whatever the world had in store for me next. I knew my life would never be the same again but I really couldn’t imagine all that would happen in the year to come. All I knew was that I had to go find out. It’s been an absolutely wild year to say the least and I made a list of 12 lessons I’ve learned in this past year of living abroad, one lesson for each month.

If you’re dreaming of spending your days eating bánh mỳ sandwiches and fresh passionfruit juice while living in a place full of rich culture and excitement, then keep reading my ten reasons why you should move to Vietnam.

2022 has been a really good year. It’s also been one of the most challenging years of my life and I’ve been pushed and really put to the test in more ways than I can even count. It’s been a fucking lot, I’ll just say that. But this is the year that I decided I’m not going to just keep dreaming about all the things I want to do in my life, I actually made a plan and I fucking did it. Like whoa who even am I?!

“Why the hell do you want to move to Vietnam?”, “You’re going all by yourself?”, “Isn’t it dangerous there?”, “Are you going to war?”, “Do they have electricity there?”, “Wait, you don’t have a job or a place to live lined up yet?!” I won’t go into all of these questions I’ve gotten from people after telling them about my plans to move to Vietnam but I would like to share just how the hell it was I came upon this decision to leave everything I’ve ever known behind, fit as much as I could into a backpack, and take the leap into the complete unknown.

It’s been quite a long time since I’ve done absolutely anything with my blog and it’s something that’s been in the back of my mind gnawing at me constantly. I have so many ideas for posts, so many photos I haven’t shared, so many thoughts and feelings that I want to express but I’ve just been so scared.

The beauty of Savannah, Georgia completely took my breath away. This southern city is a dream for architecture lovers, photographers, supernatural enthusiasts, history buffs, and those of us that can’t get enough of that good ole southern comfort food.

Ever since I can remember I’ve been so curious about different cultures of the world, landscapes, the cuisines of far away lands, people of all different backgrounds, art, history, politics—I wanted to immerse myself in it and experience it all. I have a consistent craving for anything that is new and different to me—a new city to explore, a new street food stall, a different climate, different colors, a bed other than my own, a new body of water to soak in, foreign languages to listen to (and attempt to speak), smells, sights, and sounds that I wouldn’t experience in my everyday life at home. Waking up in a new city knowing you have the whole day ahead of you to do whatever you want to do whenever you want— you’ve got nothing but time, a camera, cash in your wallet, and endless possibilities of people to meet, foods to try, and streets to roam. That’s my idea of pure bliss.

Hello and welcome to my first blog post! The idea of starting a blog has been a dream of mine for a couple years now—a dream that I’ve spent way too much time overthinking, doubting, and worrying about what others will think. I finally came to the conclusion to just say fuck all that! I would regret it so much more if I never gave myself the opportunity to just go for it and see where it takes me than if I were to go on with my life never having the courage to take the leap. So, here’s to taking the leap! With all that said let me tell you a bit about myself and what I want this blog to be all about.