About

Hello There, Fellow Travelers!

I‘ve been solo traveling the world for 7 years now, as a student, a backpacker, and as a teacher. When I was 19 I hopped on only my second ever plane to visit the country I’d been saving up for since I was 14 – South Korea.

I had no real plans to travel beyond this, but it was too late – the travel bug had sunk itself deep!! And now I can’t escape it! I’m all of 5 foot 1 and determined (with a lucky star to see me through some serious travel mishaps!)

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Me! In Seoul

Travel has revolutionized my outlook on life and vastly improved my mental health. I now prioritize experience over objects, I’m more comfortable and confident with who I am, and perhaps most importantly – I found something to live for.

I struggled with massive depression throughout my teen years. Despite having everything going for me (I always did well in school, I was talented in sports, and had many friends) I could not seem to shake myself out of a near constant well of despair.

But seeing more of the world – and paying attention to what I was seeing – saw me realizing that there’s so much to explore. So many different ways of life, languages, music, and food. Discovery! Like all the books I read as a kid.

And wasn’t that worth sticking around for? Seven years later and every year I’ve gotten to a better place within myself, and I could not be more thankful to have the chance to change the course of my life.

You can find everywhere I’ve been in the past five years on my Destinations page.

I studied abroad three times, I lived and work in Changwon, South Korea as an English teacher for two years. Currently, I am pursuing my Masters degree back in the US and prepping for a potential PhD abroad!

My travel is all about the experience and what’s going to make that experience the best. For Rome, it was staying in the thick of it, mere steps from the Colosseum. For Japan it was traditional crafts like incense or paper making. For England, it was packing an overnight bag and taking off for a hostel in a new city. My budget varies from backpacker to mid-range.

My travel interests tend to border on the ridiculous. It’s almost always music that sparks me to visit a new country. I care way too much about tea. And hot springs. And neolithic or spiritual sites. And if I can maybe skate there? Ha!

Shockingly, I don’t care too much about food (although travel has seen me realizing maybe Americans are just…bad at food!). I don’t generally care about high end experiences unless I’m splitting it with my ten closest friends – but sometimes you’ve got to splurge! And I generally limit myself to just one postcard as a souvenir 😀

Contact me through my various social media, or email me at thetinytumbleweed@gmail.com!