I was first bitten by the travel bug in 2009 when I lived and studied abroad in Ireland. Before that time I never owned a passport, never stayed in a hostel, and never fully explored life on my own. Arriving at Dublin Airport off a redeye flight from Boston, I was terrified about being out of my own country and routines. But 5 months living in Dublin and exploring Ireland awakened a passion for travel in me that I didn’t know was there.

Fast forward to 2010, I was fresh out of college with a degree in Graphic Design and Public Relations. Unfortunately, at the time, I struggled to find a job using that degree. Weeks quickly turned into months.

Oh, if only generic rejection emails telling me that I needed so many years of experience to get an entry level position actually paid ....

But there was a silver lining: I was fortunate to land a job online and after a panic attack … or a moment of clarity: I still don’t know … I realized that what I really wanted to do was take that job and explore the world.
That night, I booked a flight to Australia.

I was solo.
I was leaving for Australia in 3 weeks.
I had my laptop and an online job.
I told myself that I would give myself 3 months traveling and then I would get back to trying to find a job in my field …