Why I Chose to Spend Four Months Traveling Abroad

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 I tell people I’m traveling abroad for four months, the most common reaction I get is surprise—followed by the question: “Why so long?”

On the surface, it might look like an extended vacation, but for me, this journey is about something much deeper. While I do love traveling, I’m not just sightseeing; I’m searching. After years of loss, grief, burnout, and disconnection, I knew I needed to step outside the familiar to reconnect with myself and with the life I truly want to create. At the same time, the shifting social, political, and economic landscape in the U.S. left me questioning whether my future really belongs there—and the pull to explore other possibilities grew stronger.

For me, this trip isn’t about collecting passport stamps or rushing through a checklist of sights. It’s about slowing down, creating space, and immersing myself in environments that help me see more clearly. I’ve always been drawn to places where creativity, nature, and spirituality feel deeply woven into daily life. Bali is one of those places. I fell in love with it when I traveled here two years ago, and starting this journey here felt like a natural choice.

Another reason I chose to spend several months abroad is that I’m in a season of exploration. I’m not just traveling through places; I’m traveling for something. I’m scouting out whether there might be another corner of the world that feels more aligned with my values. I’m craving more authenticity, more connection, and a slower, more mindful pace of life—and I want to see where in the world those qualities are not just possible, but natural.

While here in Bali, I also had the opportunity to complete a sacred geometry course—a practice that’s already transforming how I see and create art. This process has allowed me to expand upon my fascination with mandalas into something even deeper and is shaping my creative process and my vision for my future business. It’s one more example of how travel and creativity are intertwined for me: this isn’t just time away, it’s an investment in the life and work I’m building.

As I move through this voyage, I don’t expect to find all the answers. What I do hope is to come away with a deeper sense of clarity—about the kind of life I want to live, the environments that nurture creativity and authenticity, and the ways I can share my work in service of others.

This trip is both an outer exploration and an inner one. Each place I visit offers not just scenery, but perspective; not just adventure, but insight. And every step along the way helps me piece together what it means to live authentically, create wholeheartedly, and align my daily life with my values.

Through this blog, I’ll be sharing pieces of that process: what I’m learning through slow travel, how my creative practice continues to evolve, and what it looks like to build a life and business that feels like an extension of who I truly am.

If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to step off the familiar path—or if you’ve felt that quiet pull toward something more—I invite you to follow along. My hope is that in sharing my journey, you’ll feel a little more permission to explore your own.