“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” These words, penned by world-famous Canadian author, Stephen King, perfectly sum up my feelings about my ‘place of brave’. Brave is not a big, confident creature. Not a swashbuckling hero of ‘get-er-done’. More often than not, brave is a tiny voice inside … Continued
Last fall i was an exchange student in Belgium. Before I left people told me I was very brave to do this. I didn’t listen to them because i knew it was so scary to me to move to a new country with a new culture where you don’t know anyone. When I came back … Continued
Mt. Bromo Sunrise “Mom,” my youngest daughter said, “if you fly out of LA on February 13th you’ll arrive in Melbourne on the 15th, it would be like February 14th never existed.” Perfect. On my flight from LA to Melbourne, somewhere over the Pacific, what would have been my twenty-eighth anniversary disappeared. Just like my … Continued
12,126 feet above sea level, I reached a dream. One boot planted on the watershed flowing to the Atlantic. My other planted on it’s opposite that flowed to the Pacific. I was straddling the Great Continental Divide almost two thousand miles from my home. And there was a moment of certainty. That all my private … Continued
The Hope We Seek Seeing Me at The American Visionary Arts Museum “You’ve got to use whatever past you came from as part of the origin story that shapes the hero you will become.” – Chris Brogan Traveling is an opportunity for inspiration, enlightenment and renewed hope. When The American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore, … Continued
Blue skies. That’s what I think of when I think of Turkey. Blue skies for miles – the sweetest blue, the kind you can taste in the air. I imagine skimming my fingers against the fabric of the sky; I bet it would be softer than rose petals, smoother than a Queen’s silks. I remember … Continued
An open heart in Mexico Jumping off the edge of a boat, going down into the water like a cannonball. Feeling the warm, salty water flowing around your body. Going up, and taking a deep breath as you rise into the surface, you open your eyes and notice the beautiful turquoise water, glimmering with the … Continued
I wished they had asked if we were ready before the plane thrummed to life and began moving. Everyone cheered and I raised my fist halfheartedly as we lurched forward. We had an appointment 12,000 feet in the air. I shifted in my uncomfortable bright orange jumpsuit and reviewed the simple instructions over and over … Continued
Bravery is too often confused with adventure and action. Too often, people diminish their own bravery because it might lack the drama of scenery. Bravery is in fact a simple notion: you show bravery when you do something you thought you couldn’t do. For many, bravery is tapped into when limits are pushed, which of … Continued
“So who’s older?” the dreaded question. Everyone asks, and it would be fine if we were twins or something, but we’re not and I happen to be a whole year and nine months-yes I’ve counted- older. And when I tell them they seem so surprised, just because she is a little thicker and taller, they … Continued