All in the Family


Time to tuck in for a story...

From a young age I've been fascinated with fantasy worlds and mythology, seeking solace in these phantasmagorical domains brought to life and only limited by how far my imagination stretched. This brought about intrigue of the "funny words," or later recognized as fantasy languages, created by authors to add a realistic element to their literary universe.

After learning a few French words and soaking in all of the history films I'd watch with my Fajer, at a young age, it became apparent to me just how diverse our own world was, starting with the language. I was his little shadow, his little buddy, peppering him with questions about the foreign lands we saw on the History Channel and listening to his stories behind what we watched. The more I learned, the more I wanted to see and experience for myself, to see what these real, faraway lands were truly like and how they had evolved since their war-torn days frozen in history..
Fun fact: my fifth grade self chose "historian" as her future career for the yearbook (even I knew Hogwarts professor was out of my reach).

My maternal grandfather sent my family postcards from China and had the opportunity to travel for work - it was from hearing about his travels and learning there are actually careers that require one to travel that blew my childhood mind, strengthening my resolve to do whatever it takes to jump on that career pathway. So enthralled was I by this newfound sense of direction - okay, so the career epiphany did not truly happen until junior year - that I was convinced I would be packing my bags indefinitely with visa and passport in-hand as soon as I finished my undergraduate degree.

The first opportunity abroad was the summer before senior year with my high school German teacher and the student tour abroad she organized through EF Tours. We traversed through Germany and Austria, saw the French Alps, had a brief loo stop in Lichtenstein, and heard firsthand the slight variation of the German and French dialects in Switzerland. I was inflicted with wanderlust and have been joyfully "suffering" ever since, finding refuge in planning and trekking through our beautiful country and crossing boundaries to foreign lands.

17 years old - my submission to Glamour Magazine's Where has your Glamour been contest


The summer of 2010 was only the beginning for me and I've been slowly filling up my wall map at every chance I can get.


I didn't even like beer at the time but was naturally drawn to the finer things in life

Do you remember your first major trip? The one you couldn't forget if you tried...the one that made you never want to stop moving your feet?

"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." -Dr. Seuss

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