My friend from Seoul and fellow blogger, Ruthie at Wanderings and Wonderings shared a pretty cool initiative with me by Easyjet about travel bloggers inspiration for doing what they do. It is an interesting idea to go inward and think about why I have this desire and need to travel and see the world, and while I don't think I can technically even enter the contest since I am not a UK citizen, the topic intrigued me. So here it is - this is what I live for!




Who: This is a hard one for me, being a typical American, I did not travel when I was a kid, I did not go on exotic explorations with my mom and dad (besides road trips in our minivan to California to visit the grandparents...that does NOT count) and I am a late bloomer when it comes to real traveling. Until pretty recently I have barely even left my home country. Since I was a kid, living in a small town, all I have ever wanted was to get out of it and explore the world, it has been my dream as long as I can remember. I have always been so envious of others who had amazing experiences overseas and I have worked hard my whole life to make my dream a reality, on my own. So as pompous as it may be, I am proud to have achieved my dream (with love and support from my family and friends) because of my own perseverance (and companionship from my best friend and love of my life, he has been with me through most of it all, I can't forget that!) and even though I am certainly not a pioneer on the traveling front, in my own way, I paved my own path.




What: Becoming my own person has been quite a journey, even before I started traveling the world.  I knew that the world had more to offer me than Smalltown, USA (thank Buddha for that!) The constant "you can't do it" attitude I got from many people who tried to bring me down was a huge motivator for me, I like to prove people wrong. I can. I did. And I am kicking butt (while looking damn good) doing it. I have friends who tell me I am brave and I think that is a little silly, I am a chicken shit. I just couldn't imagine life settling for less than what it should be.




Where: I moved to Seoul, South Korea in 2011, the first time I had done something so drastic and independent. It was a scary and exhilarating time in my life and I could have not grown so much had the city not been such an amazing, diverse place, something I had really not expected. Living abroad and being able to do it all on my own was something I had always wanted to do and Seoul will always hold a very special place in my heart because it nurtured this young drifter, proving I could do it after all. Like I have said in several posts on this blog (like this one, and this one, oh and of course this one) living in Korea was the best year of my life, thus far- I am still young fortunately- and it changed me in more ways than I can count. I will always think fondly of my time on the peninsula and be forever grateful of the sweet transition I made into an expat there.



When: Like I have said, as long as I can remember I have wanted to travel. I attended University out of state and while there I traveled to Mexico with a friends church group to build some houses for families living in a very poor community. We camped in the sand near the ramshackle town and during the day worked hard in the hot, Sonoran sun building a small basic cement (homemade with straw and rocks) house (four walls and a roof) for a family who previously lived in cardboard pinned together. They were so thankful we were there and we so kind (they fed us when they could barely feed themselves and the kids in the neighborhood loved playing with us) it changed me forever. Seeing people that lived like that, in a way I could not comprehend, and so many privileged Americans cannot, I knew I needed to see what the rest (most!) of the world lived like. I wanted help. I still don't know what I want to do with my life (teaching rich kids in a poor country is NOT it, money really is the root of all evil) but talking, teaching, laughing, helping, appreciating all kinds of people from all around the world is my ideal job.




My Nominations:


Macy at Anywhere is Paradise
Naomi at Anywhere but Home
Melanie at Girl with Gumption
(I know none of you are British either, but your my favorite bloggers and I think this a fun one to ponder!)