I grew up on an island.

The day I turned 18, as a message to myself (and my mother) that i was now free, I went to the tattoo parlor and got inked with one of those tacky Chinese character designs. I still have that dreadful tattoo, but I don’t regret it for a moment. Along with getting permanently marked with a design that is soooo 90’s, I made a very strong intention that day. The meaning behind symbol I chose was “A good, full life.” (At least I hope that’s what it actually means). But regardless, I made a very powerful pact within myself to live life to its very fullest, to make the most of the miraculous gift of life.

Soon after I knew I had to leave the predictable comfort of Camano Island, Washington. I was scared to go but horrified to stay because I knew my small town was hungry for lives and could eat mine in the blink of an eye. So I sold my stuff and left for New York with my dog and a bag of things. 

I loved New York, the medley of street smells, the hustle, the endless variety of people from all over the world. I sensed a boundless possibility there. And it was just different. So very opposite from my small town. I absorbed the culture like a sponge and explored the city, feeling ever so alive. But after a few years of working as a waitress and scrambling to pay rent, I felt myself wrapped up in the routine of survival. I fell into the daily grind and it was the same common thing over and over again. I found myself depressed and itching for a shake-up to bring me back into the fullness of life.

A goat chillin’ on a car in Chor Bazarre, a bustling street market outside of Mumbai

I bought a ticket to India. India seemed like the place that could provide the greatest perspective shift, I felt that India could shake me up. I arrived to the black and white striped curbs of Mumbai and fell in love with the colorful chaos of the bustling city. I loved to see the different ways in which people lived and to also find where we all connect as humans. How things are different, yet the same. I ventured cautiously into one of the “slums” and walking down the narrow paths I found women and children looking back at me shyly and then moments later warmly welcoming me in. I found amongst the corrugated shacks a community with such connection, togetherness and they offered me mutual respect. I went back to New York full of gratitude.

Sunrise boat ride through the canals of Kerala in Southern India

Brightly dressed women in Kumarakom, Southern India

We ran into these beautifully adorned cows along the beach in Karwar, India

After this I did whatever I could to travel. I would work determinedly, painting mural after mural to save up enough money to get to the next disparate place that I could think of. I went to China. I dropped in without any research or guidebook. It kicked my ass. With no understanding of the language or the culture I was lost, physically, and soon emotionally. I remember wandering the streets of Beijing with way too much stuff including my bag of clothes, another one full of paint, plus 40 wooden Hearts of the World panels (before I realized that trying to do a world wide art project on heavy masonite panels was a fools game). I broke down no less than three times on that trip and nearly had to sleep on the streets of Beijing. China taught me a lot about patience.

Sleepover on the Great Wall of China with  a dozen fellow travelers. (So many wonderful experiences in China amongst the challenging). 

Since then, I have been to many places and each time I venture from the hustle of New York, I am rewarded with new colors, sights, and insights, nuggets of wisdom and callouses of learning, more know-how, more capability, less or no money, greater understanding, more compassion, more patience, more friends, and more stories…

And now I know well, that whenever I feel that dulling monotony creeping into my life, it’s time to get up and go.

Where do you want to go?