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Confessions of a Debut Author Becoming a debut author has turned out to be one of the wildest adventures I’ve ever embarked on—more than taking a year to travel solo, more than moving to Kurdistan. My last post on here was about my post-publication blues, which I’m still struggling with on a daily basis, but […]
A Different Way to Bloom: Becoming a Debut Author Read More »
Smiling on the outside, dealing with the wreckage of doubt inside. The Highs and Post-Book Blues During the past three weeks since the launch of my debut book, One Year and a One-Way Ticket, I’ve been battling between two opposing emotions that comprise my post-book blues: The exhilaration of having finally brought my book baby
Feeling Lost After Publishing? My Post-Book Blues Explained Read More »
One Year and a One-Way Ticket: Ditching My Mother’s Five-Year Plan to Travel Solo—the memoir that might just convince you to follow your heart and jump head first into adventure. What if the life you were supposed to live wasn’t the life you truly wanted? What if, instead of following the plan laid out for
One Year. One Ticket. One Life-Changing Journey: Memoir Now Available Read More »
I wasn’t always part of the backpackers club… While traveling solo meeting other backpackers is easy—you meet them at hostels, cafés, walking tours, or maybe just randomly on the street. Whenever I see a person lugging an oversized bag on their back, I know immediately that I can probably strike up a conversation with them
What Happens When Dancers Become Backpackers: A Sensational Duo in Vietnam Read More »
It might be time to take a break… We all want an escape from our daily lives sometimes. If we didn’t take regular breaks from work, or our usual routines we burnout easily. When preparing for my book launch I know I didn’t take breaks as often as I should have and I bet that
How to Travel for Change Instead of Futile Escape Read More »
A changed girl by the end of December 2018. Photo by Danika Smith. At some point along the way during my year-long journey overseas, I realized that my adventure had become a kind of transformative solo travel experience. For a long time, I felt like I was dealing with some kind of imposter syndrome. When
Transformative Solo Travel: How to Redefine Yourself Read More »
Let Go with Travel We all have things we want to let go of. Whether it’s unlearning an attachment style we exhibit in relationships, letting go of old goals to make room for new ones, or letting go of anger towards daily frustrations like a traffic jam—learning to let go is a life skill that
Daring to Let Go on the Northern Edge of Spain Read More »
The Ugly Truth About Travel Travel isn’t always about stunning vistas, beautiful waterfalls, and ancient sites. The truth about travel is that it is equal amounts of adventure and joy as it can be tiring and heartbreaking. Sometimes—just like life back home—travel can be rough. And I’m not just talking about missing a flight, or
The Truth About Travel: A Story of Turmoil in Berlin Read More »
What Makes or Breaks a Travel Experience? How do we make a travel experience overseas the most memorable? Are there a list of ‘must-see sights’ to see? Do we arrive with a list of foods to try? Maybe our goal is to simply relax. There are many reasons why people travel, but what I’ve found
A Colorful Travel Experience: The Power of Connection Read More »
Everyone wants happiness in life. I can’t imagine anyone arguing against this. But what stands in our way of finding happiness and joy in our lives? Often we blame external factors—our crappy job, our partners, our health, our physical appearance—as to why we feel unhappy. Similar to the story I shared about joy, I want
How to Find Happiness: Lessons from Nepal Read More »
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