I tramp a perpetual journey.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky The walls of my room were collaged with vinyl records, silk scarves, pictures of friends, family and travels, posters of musicians and past performances, old love notes, letters, postcards, awards, reminders, and anything you can think of from the time I was a teenager up until college. Before we came to Germany, I tore everything down and just cried. I knew that one day I would have to do it, but didn't realize how emotional it would be. I fell asleep to flaky, empty walls which seemed both disturbing and liberating. The faint lines of the glow in the dark stars I put up when I was a kid continued to glow, even though my dad scratched them off. As much as I wanted to ignore the fact we were selling ou...

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.” ― Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography I have had this quote on a sticky note on my laptop for a few months... and find that it is always a good motivator. Along with this beautiful song by Patrick Watson, an amazing Canadian singer/ song writer (currently) from Montreal. I also enjoyed this video that was paired with it because it reminds me of the German countryside.

Now that I am settled in at my parent’s humble apartment in Germany, I thought I would reflect a little bit on my trip to Iceland. I have been thinking a little bit about the country every day, trying to decide how I could possibly describe my feelings about it…so here it goes.   This past march, during spring break, I visited Iceland for the first time during its dark time of year. I arrived to the country at around 7am and found out that I could not check into my hostel (The Backpackers Hostel) until 2pm. Thus, I dropped my bags off and walked around the whole city for about six hours in a breezy, cold snow storm without the right foot attire and a light jacket. What I found was that, for being such a cold, rainy and snowy country, Iceland’s culture is warm and vibrant. Although, my first experience of Iceland was very short (one day) and…cold…(including the part where I forgot to pay for a hostel blanket and had no hair dryer) I knew I needed to return. View from Hallg...

Firstly, I would like to explain the name I chose for my new blog! Since a lot of change is coming my way with selling my childhood home, my sister getting married, graduating college and moving to Germany, I decided to base this blog around my new experiences and gradual understanding of myself and the world around me. I may at times, refer to past experiences and relate them to the new which will all be a part of connecting the dots and understanding what these experiences have meant in my life. The quote "I tramp a perpetual journey," was taken from a segment of Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself" which is included in his work, Leaves of Grass. Leaves of Grass is a vast collection of poems which Whitman wrote about his philosophy of life and humanity. He spent many years adding to and revising the collection, which were heavily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson's writings. (As am I.) I wanted to use an allusion to the free verse poem, "Song of Mys...