Never turn down the chance to sit on a dock at sunset with your homies.
This Letchworth trip was the last hurrah for my 30th birthday, the final candle to blow out at the start of this new decade. I turned 30 on May 30th, but only this past weekend did the celebrations finally end. For two whole months, I’ve been reminded of how much love there is for me to receive.
I’ve navigated my chronic illness and the powerful misconceptions that come with it for years now. In honor of Chronic Disease Awareness Day (July 10), it’s important to me that I explain the power of your words, your misconceptions.
It’s no secret that I crave a life full of adventure, but I bookend every adventure with long-ish periods of gentle recharge.
That’s because I live with a chronic illness called ulcerative colitis.
Last week, I had a routine procedure to check the status of my disease, and I’m happy to report that I’ve officially hit 5 years of remission!!
To celebrate this massive milestone, I took the week off from writing.
Instead, here’s a previous post where I share what it’s like to live with chronic illness and how I travel the world in spite of my diagnosis.
I’m so proud of how I’ve navigated these past 5 years. I’ve learned to honor my body in all of its states. I’ve learned to be vulnerable and transparent, to lean on my support systems, and to mitigate inflammation like an absolute champ.
Enjoy this post from the archive, and I’ll be back next week.
Thanks for being here, and 3 cheers for 5 years! :)
Originally published: December 9, 2025
I’m writing this post to celebrate and validate other people who live with chronic illness.
I also wanted to address questions I’ve received from the healthy people in my life because, whether it stems from concern or ignorance, we often attach limitations to people with chronic health conditions.
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Culturally, we act like the start of your 30s is the start of your decline. Especially for women, there is this societal pressure to always be perceived as a 20-something. We are told that our value diminishes as our age increases.
But I’m just getting started.
I have mixed feelings about the car-dependent suburbs of America. I wish they were more walkable, community-driven, and diverse. At the same time, I have a deep nostalgia for Suburbia because it was my world for the first 19 years of my life.
POV: You’re crammed in the window seat with a full bladder and a grumbling stomach :’)
I am not a tall person. At five feet and one inch, I am an objectively compact traveler. I’m the size of person who airlines should theoretically have no trouble accommodating. Yet, on a recent two-hour flight, I found myself crammed into a window seat so restricted that shifting my weight felt like an act of violence against my neighbor.
Fisherman’s Wharf, on the northern waterfront, offers views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and a resident colony of sea lions.
When you travel as much as I do, there’s a persistent pressure to maximize every destination. I feel the need to see everything a city has to offer because, well, I’m a travel blogger. I’m supposed to come back to you with stories, with beautiful photos, with proof that a city is worth visiting.
But my trip to San Francisco was different. I simply rested within its labyrinth of alleyways and found the space to breathe.
I had been taught to fear the unknown, as many Americans are taught. I was told to trust a higher power (be it God or my government or both) in spite of my own intuition. I was scared to make a mistake, to be perceived as ignorant. I was ridiculed for existing beyond the norm, even when the norm was harmful. All these factors made it tempting to stay put and avoid any experience that might humble me.
I’ve been forced to a slower pace this Spring: Flyfishing or gardening on the sunny days and reading or doing home improvement projects on the rainy days.
This year I’ve experienced one travel fail after another. Read on as I outline all that has gone wrong these past three months, as well as share a major bucket list accomplishment and tease my summer travel plans.
At this point in our lives, we love being DINKs because gives us the freedom to be spontaneous with how we spend our time. So off we set, two childless and carefree travelers, right? Wrong. Sometimes the stars just don’t align, even when you have total flexibility and all the time in the world.