The world is inspiration in itself. Being brave is simply a result of trying to be a part of the world you’re in and not hiding in your comfort zone. It takes a real amazing place, however, to make you feel as though you’ve never left, and yet allows you the freedom you inevitably receive … Continued
As I spoon the melting hazelnut gelato from my tilted bowl, Susan says, “I think I’ve had too much wine. Maybe we should go back the hotel.” “Are you kidding? Seize the day. We’re in Italy. It’s all about the wine. Let’s go somewhere else,” I say. We leave the restaurant and stroll, living la … Continued
My Place in This World in the USA “It all will fall, fall right into place” –Modest Mouse I sat with my legs crossed on my bed at the farmhouse in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, and answered a series of interview questions from a lady 2,800 miles away. The job was to be an … Continued
Has anyone recently told you how brave you are? Probably not. The writing life doesn’t come off as requiring courage. In a normal day’s work, the worst danger you’re likely to face is a paper cut. But if you’re a writer – if you’re taking ideas out of your head and turning them into words … Continued
Be happy! Be brave! Be you! In the Galapagos Like sun rises every morning so and I am rising every morning with new thoughts to travel, to travel far away, to travel somewhere where I can be brave, where I can be myself, where I can be free to fly like … Continued
Serenity and Strength through Quiet Contemplation China On the tail end of a solemn, exhaustive and grief-filled trip to witness my grandfather’s passing, Dad and I made a stop in Hangzhou, a city in Zhejian Province, a quaint and naturally scenic spot southwest of Shanghai. We thought that a quiet diversion would cox our battered … Continued
To keep your balance you must keep moving…USA We’d been riding for hours, and for the last few miles had been cycling into a brutal headwind. As I narrowed my eyes, dropped down yet another gear and tried to ignore the protests of my legs I saw the approach to the bridge loom into view. … Continued
On the 8th of June back in 2012, I walked to The End of the Earth and found my bravery along the way. The end of the earth (also called Finnisterre) sits on the end of Cape Finnisterre, a rocky peninsula just beyond the town of Fisterra in the North West corner of Spain. In … Continued
I walk out of the shady, pine-scented woods, and stop, mid-stride, frozen in fear and wonder. I can feel the panic rising up my throat, threatening to choke me. Below me, in all its miniature widescreen glory stretches the Yosemite Valley. Less than twenty-four hours earlier I had stood in that valley, craning my … Continued
It has been two weeks since I came back home. I was nineteen when I decided to leave for Shanghai to pursue my undergraduate education. I was ecstatic of the idea of being alone in a foreign country, or rather, to be able to leave the grey monochrome metropolis I was supposed to regard as … Continued