Off the Beaten Path

There are countless moments that stay with me from my travels through Southeast Asia and Europe — like wandering a night market in Chiang Mai, surrounded by people speaking languages I didn't know, eating food I couldn't name, and feeling, somehow, completely at home. Or catching the eye of the woman sitting across from me on a train in Portugal. No words. No shared history. Just two humans recognizing each other across the aisle. Those moments felt like a truth I already kne

When I sit down with the intention to create, what usually shows up first isn’t inspiration — it’s avoidance. I suddenly find a hundred other things to do. I fall into research mode. I tell myself I need to learn more, know more, be more before I can begin. Somewhere along the way, creating started to feel like something I had to earn. The voice of fear is familiar and persistent. It tells me I don’t have enough experience. That I’ve been away from my art for too long. That n

Consistency has been on my mind for a long time — long before I packed up my life and started this four-month journey. It’s been an almost-daily companion, trailing behind me with a familiar mix of guilt, pressure, and the ever-present feeling that I should be doing more. More journaling. More meditating. More drawing. More posting. More staying connected. More being who people have always known me to be: the reliable one, the dependable one, the person who always shows up.

Even though I was already aware of this issue, traveling for an extended period has made me realize just how deeply ingrained hustle culture and productivity are in modern society—particularly in the West. I quit my university job over three years ago, and I’m still learning how to unravel this conditioning. It has gotten easier over time, but I still catch myself multiple times a day thinking about what I “should” be doing or feeling pressure to be productive, because somewh

What would happen if you pressed pause on your daily life and gave yourself permission to explore who you are—and where you belong? When...

For most of my life, I thought I was doing all the “right” things. I built a career as a counselor and educator, checked the boxes of achievement, and kept myself busy on the hamster wheel of productivity. On the outside, it looked good. But inside, I felt more and more disconnected—from my creativity, from my freedom, and from myself. Eventually, I hit a breaking point. The university job I had poured myself into no longer fit. Leaving felt terrifying, but staying felt impos