It was a bright afternoon—no clouds, just pure blue lakes reflecting pure blue skies and the sun reflecting off snow-capped peaks. And I was on a bus winding along these empty New Zealand roads, the sound of Leonard Cohen's Live from London concert floating through the bus speakers, his deep voice singing "Hallalujah" in an even deeper valley.

I felt like I was in a movie.

I had a lot of moments like that in New Zealand. And I think that's what's so great about travel: the way it gives our lives these movie-moments that can't be found in the monotony of our usual routine.

***

What's that phrase again? A picture is worth a thousand words? Well, that's not true, I don't think. Photos can't capture the fullness of a moment, can't capture the laughs I had playing a popular French card game with our friend from Lille, can't capture the sound of an avalanche echoing through a valley, can't capture the magnitude of the mountains and just how small you felt standing next to sheer cliff walls, your head straining back to peer at its peaks.

Photos can't fully capture that. But that's okay; they're still fun to look at.

(Read more about my trip to New Zealand here.)

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Read about my trip to New Zealand in the travel essay, Finding Peace in New Zealand.
Been to New Zealand already and are looking for another bucket-list worthy destination? Norway is it.

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"Revelator Eyes" // The Paper Kites

I like to do this thing where I pick an album or two to exclusively and extensively listen to while on a trip, and The Paper Kites' new album, twelvefour, was what I listened to every. single. day. while in New Zealand (no, really).

I was introduced to this Aussie band by a friend who is always on point with music suggestions. The album takes me back to the 80s glory days that I never actually experienced because I was born in the 90s. But nonetheless, it takes me there, and I love it.

This song is my favorite on the album along with "Electric Indigo" and "A Silent Cause." Please go listen to the entire album and then buy it because musicians need money too an' stuff.

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Travel Journal // Look, Listen, Attend: A Week in Southern California

I took a trip to California in April—an idea that was born under the blue skies of another trip west in January, as my friends and I ate pizza after our final hike together in Phoenix. “Let’s go to California,” someone suggested. Why not?

So we booked a week in Los Angeles. On our itinerary: a day hiking in Joshua Tree National Park.

If my home decor and the tattoo on my wrist and my Instagram caption enthusiasm don’t make it clear enough: I am a sucker for the desert, and cactuses in particular. I think the whole place is a magical, martian land, so different from anything I grew up in or experienced for the first 23 years of my life. I could sit on a rock on a desert mountain all day long, and I have, and I will do again exactly this in November.

This is an essay about hope and resurrection + photos & recommendations for your trip to Southern California.

Travel Journal // London

My London is circling Heathrow on our descent while playing The 1975’s “Robbers” on repeat. My London is a tree on Primrose Hill, sitting underneath it year after year, a bit like marking my growth on a door frame.

My London is a Thai restaurant with only six small tables tucked into a room in a square across from the Natural History Museum. My London is a bench on the banks of the Thames, the Shard barely visible behind a brown stone church on the opposite bank.

My London is a mocha and a notebook and all sorts of thoughts ready to wrestle with the blank page. My London is raindrops and wind gusts and grey skies spread wide.

This is an essay on what makes a city feel like home + photos from my trip to London in March 2018.

Travel Journal // Good Winter: A Weekend in Milwaukee

We were in Milwaukee to see Bon Iver’s show for the 10th anniversary of the album, For Emma, Forever Ago—an appropriate time and place for a band whose name is based on the French “bon hiver”—good winter.

But good is hardly how I would describe winter. I am the scrooge of winter. I can appreciate the season for exactly 25 days in the month of December; once we pass Christmas, I am decidedly over winter, ready to trash it with the torn wrapping paper and leftover cookie crumbs. Most nights are spent hiding under a blanket and watching reruns of New Girl and The Office and longing for the days when the sun stays up past 4:30pm. Outside my apartment windows, tree branches that once carried armfuls of green life now look more like gnarled hands reaching up from the grave. Give me literally any season over winter, please.

This is an essay that asks, “Can winter be good?” + a few recommendations for your own Milwaukee weekend (mainly: the cutest coffee shop).

Travel Journal // Phoenix

I needed this trip. I needed to board a plane and for a few days sit under blue skies rather than the lingering grey of a Tennessee winter. I’ve traveled enough (and been to counseling) to know that you can’t run away from your feelings by hopping a flight bound to another hemisphere, but I also know that, sometimes, a plane ticket can be just what your soul needs to realign your perspective from whatever worries may be disorienting it. Something about looking down at the earth below from 35,000 feet up can refresh a hurting heart.

This is an essay on redeeming a city + a list of recommendations for your own visit (hint: the most delicious tacos you will ever eat.)

Travel Journal // New York City

I recently spent 5 days in New York City visiting two dear friends. Here are some suggestions for what to do + where to eat (bonus: SO MUCH gluten free goodness) + a plethora of photos from around the city.

Travel Journal // Norway: Åndalsnes + Geiranger + Ålesund

I went to Norway for a week, exploring Åndalsnes, Geiranger, and Ålesund. Here are my thoughts, photos, suggestions, and encouragements for you take your own trip to Norway.

London Bound: A Guide to Planning Your Trip

If you can have a city-version of the love of your love, then London is mine. I studied for a semester in that delightfully-dreary city and have been madly in love with the place since. Try as I might, I’ve not found a legal way to make London my dwelling place, though I’m currently accepting applications for a British beau. But if I can’t have a permanent London address, I can settle for an annual pilgrimage across the pond to the city that holds my heart. Here are my recommendations for planning your own trip to London.

Travel Journal // 3 Days in Los Angeles

Some reflections, photos, and suggestions on things to do and see from a long weekend in Los Angeles.

Photojournal // New Zealand

Photos from my 9 days of travel through New Zealand's south island.

17 Reasons Why Studying in London is the Best Decision Ever

Studying abroad in London will be the best (or second-best) decision you’ll ever make in your college career. Here’s 17 reasons why.