Holy doodles. I am so happy to be back in Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. I didn’t realize (that’s a lie, yes I did) how much my heart missed this beautiful country that has managed to capture my little heart and squeeze it tight. It makes me want to cry thinking about my younger self and the momentous adventure it was for me to move down here at 25 with only a loose connection to a potential job and housing situation. That leap of faith led me to the most incredible experience and has introduced me to some of the greatest and fastest friends in my life.

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Something feels different. In a good, and weird, and uncomfortable way. This summer is shaping up to be a bit different than I would’ve guessed it to be. I just landed in Auckland this morning after spending the last three weeks or so in Iceland working for Smithsonian Student Travel. It was an epic trip, seriously. The beautiful, frigid, sub-Arctic island is loaded with geothermal, volanic, and glacial wonders, enough to delight even the most avid outdoor enthusiast.

I’m writing right now like I’m trying to create a travel brochure. I’ll admit I’ve been feeling off and non-commital in my writing lately. I have little desire to write something coherent. Instead, I show up to my journals and docs like I just want to work vomit and get on with my day. So I decided to, once again, stop putting pressure on myself to create something polished and just throw the spaghetti (writing and photography) at the wall (my blog and social media outlets) without the need to make them sparkle.

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