My whole life I was conditioned to seek out the new, the unexpected, the culture, the views, the different, and the most fun. This made me who I am today, which I probably never thanked my parents and the rest of my family. This rang true in everything that we did and it is what i liked to call “a snowball effect”. Now I am not trying to overthink things at 12:24 am on a school night (work nights are school nights, don’t lie), but its true. and right now everything that I have learned and grew to love has led me to this moment: creating a blog about my travel.
and man I was meant to TRAVEL. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a couple of fun facts
My parents met in Saudi Arabia as travel nurses for 2 years and then traveled around Africa, Southeast Asia, and Mexico before they settled back in California
My aunt Renee was a staunch advocate for taking pictures everywhere we went and how we always needed to be ready for a smile or a funny face for a picture. She was always HEAVILY into scrapbooking and photo album creation.
We had a small house and old cars, but took countless family trips around the United States and even Mexico when my sister and I were real young.
My grandfather hitchhiked across the country by trains before he joined the marines in order to see the worlds fair in NYC.
My aunt also was always game for the next road trip and would pile us into the car drive to the next destination even if it meant driving over a bridge which she was deathly afraid of or flying to another city even though she was also deathly afraid of flying (orange juice x vodka helped there).
When we had state reports to do in 5th grade, my parents decided that we just had to go there which always helped our reports. so we went to the Land of Enchantment for me (New Mexico) and to the Hawaiian Islands for my sister. Obviously my sister was a lot smarter than me.
My sister and I both did Camp Adventure where we were camp counselors on military bases in Germany during college summers and got to travel to different cities on the weekends. Young and 19 in Europe for the first time is a beautiful thing.
Even my grandmother, at the ripe old age of 75 went on an adventure with a few of her friends and visited Norway and Sweden, just to do it.
sooooo ya, I think I was meant to travel. We all were.
But with all that said, this background of mine throughout my life has taught me that we need to embrace our own sense of wonder and that our own drive really creates lasting memories for you and everyone around you.
and my drive has been very focused my whole life. I just wanted to make my family proud, hang with my friends, watch my sports teams win, buy some sweet basketball shoes, eventually help make some, and see the world. and man have i seen it. 13% of the world to be exact or as my BEEN app tells me.
but that is not enough. I must see more. I’m addicted. and that is what you want out of a travel blogger (ugh that sounded gross just saying it. I will think of a better name). Always searching for the next and the new.
I must see it all while I have time on this beautiful planet. and while I do it, I should probably keep track as well. I will use this blog to give you a bit more insight into my world, my thought process, some great images, some culture, some music, some poetry, and whatever else I find useful to help navigate this world.
Being 30 makes you a bit more grounded and confident than I ever expected. Enough confidence to endure a blog and any naysayers. Dare i say more wise? I got some wisdom to give out, but i won’t give it all at once.
and who knows how long I do this for, but I need to generate this content because it is what keeps me sane now a days. It’s my hobby. and an expensive one at that. but it’s my progress and this snowball effect has gotten me to the best version of me. every new place helps me to be better than the last.
So we keep going. Plotting and scheming, doing it for the love of the game, showcasing the drive, and maybe a few likes along the way.
-CM