About Me

First thing's first...I wasn't born and raised in Boston (gasp!). But then why on earth would name my travel blog The Blue Eyed Bostonian? That's easy. Boston has become my home. I have lived in this wonderful city for 4 years during my college career and Boston has become a huge part of my heart. I truly found myself in this city. 

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I was born and raised in a "wicked" small town in Pennsylvania. My whole family is still there, so I'm constantly flying back and forth between my two homes. Because I'm always on a plane going somewhere, I became inspired to share my travel expertise with anyone who wants to listen. 

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Okay, so I fly a lot. What's the big deal? This is a travel blog let's talk about the fun stuff.  How did I get the travel bug (a.k.a wanderlust)? I honestly don't know. I don't have a life changing story to tell of an epiphany that  I had on a grand adventure I was on years ago. Rather, to a certain extent, travel has always been part of my life. I was lucky enough to have parents who valued family vacations, so because of them I've been able to see much of the United States since I was a little girl. Because of this, when I was growing up I always relished in the fact that I was able to look at a picture in a textbook or on the TV and say "I've been there!".  In my opinion, being able to say that phrase is one of the greatest feelings, so as I was in school learning history and art and stories from around the world, my list of places I wanted to be able to say that about grew. A lot. 

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Although my list was a mile long, it wasn't until after I graduated high school that I went abroad for the first time. I took Spanish for 4 years and absolutely loved it. I loved learning a new language and culture. Through this experience, my high school Spanish teacher offered my small class the opportunity to go to Ecuador on a mission trip with his church. He felt it would be a great way for us to put to the test the last four years of our Spanish knowledge and ability, as well as celebrate graduating. I never though twice about it. To my mother's dismay, I was going on that trip. 

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I, along with two of my best friends, went to Ecuador that August and served the people of three villages. We ministered, we sang, we danced, we face-painted, we built, and we saw. We saw what life is like for other people in other parts of the world. We saw poverty, we saw different cultural customs and values, we spoke with natives, and we ate guinea pig (a delicacy there). We also loved. I met the most wonderful family who I still keep in contact with to this day, they consider me a part of their family and we don't let language barriers stop us. 

Although we were there for a mission, we were also able to sight see for a day and a half. I stood on the Equator, felt its mystical and unexplainable energy, and I also stood in both of the world's hemispheres at the same time. Now that's not something everyone you meet can say! Having that opportunity to go to Ecuador and see and experience everything I did truly opened my eyes in more ways than I can explain. Ever since then, my urge to see the world has grown. And it continues to grow with each trip I embark on.

I went off to my freshman year of college 10 days after returning from Ecuador. Safe to say my mom was not thrilled with me. Her baby girl went abroad, somewhere she didn't think was safe, and now she was going to college 12 hours from home. Let's just say my mom had a rough month. Sorry, Mom. In college, I grew. I became myself. Me, a self-proclaimed introvert and band geek, someone who didn't ever stray from her comfort zone, was suddenly doing life in a big city. A city that took me way out of my comfort zone. Not only was I doing life, but I was thriving. In fact, I thrived so much I realized staying in my comfort zone was a load of crap and I kicked myself for being in it for way too long. 

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After this epiphany, I started living life a little differently. Fast forward to sophomore year of college. I was anxiously anticipating applying to my Dual Degree program that had been a goal of mine for literally 7 years. Let's just say... I was a mess. Then, one day I heard about a service learning trip meeting - stop by to hear about the destinations and dates. I swung by and the first poster caught my eye, "Multicultural Andalucia". A trip to the Andalucia region of Spain to explore its art and architecture. 'Umm yes please', was the thought that went through my brain. It was deja vu all over again because I didn't think twice about it, I was going on that trip. I didn't know how I would get the money together for it, but I was going. 

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Let me just say, Spain was AMAZING! It was my first time to Europe, the continent that had always been at the top of my travel bucket list. While I didn't make it to Barcelona or Madrid, I saw so much beauty in Seville, Granada, Cadiz, and Cordoba. It was a great ten days filled with lots of art, architecture, and culture. Some of my favorite memories from the trip are from the Bull Fighting Museum, the Cathedral of Seville (where parts of Christopher Columbus are buried), the Alhambra Palace, and watching a traditional flamenco dance in a cave in Granada. 

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When I returned home from that trip, I actually felt kind of depressed. I'm not sure if that's weird but I fell in love  with Europe on that trip and I needed to go back ASAP, but I was a poor college student how would I be able to? For most people, a semester study abroad would have been a good option. However, due to the rigidity and specialty of my academic program it was never an option for me. It's never fun not to have your next trip planned, am I right?

Luckily for me, I found a brochure for AIFS, a study abroad company. They had short term summer programs, the answer to my prayers! In that brochure I found the PERFECT trip, it checked off all of my top travel bucket list destinations plus some: London, Amsterdam, Paris, Lausanne Switzerland, Venice, Florence and Rome. It was like the trip was made for me. This trip coincidentally studied European art and architecture, like my Spain trip. I remembered how much I enjoyed learning about those subjects (despite having absolutely nothing to do with my major), I knew this trip would be amazing. 

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To say the 3.5 weeks I spent traveling around Europe with approximately 25 strangers was simply "amazing" would be a drastic understatement. That trip easily falls within the top 3 best experiences of my entire life, and trust me it's up against tough competition like meeting Jesse McCartney and going to Disney World. We travelled to 6 countries, we saw and experienced some of the most wonderful sights that most people only ever read about or see in the movies. Some of my personal favorites: Being in London in the days leading up to the Royal Wedding, standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, swinging off the tallest building in Amsterdam, indulging in authentic Belgian chocolate (DELICIOUS), seeing the Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's David, and having my Lizzie McGuire moment at the Trevi Fountain in Rome. I stood in so many places where history was made, like the Colosseum. It was because of that trip, that my wanderlust became insatiable and I became inspired to go as many places as I can. It was because of that trip that I have the goal of visiting 30 countries by 30. But I have every intention of surpassing that well before then. 

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So now it's confession time. I almost didn't go on on that amazing 3.5 week European adventure. I had absolutely no one that I knew to go with and I was so intimidated. That trip was asking me to go WAY outside of my comfort zone (you would think I would learn about the stupid comfort zone by now). My fear almost prevented me from the trip of a lifetime. Lucky for me, I can be pretty stubborn and I found two quotes that helped me through that. 1.) Don't let your fear hold you back and 2.) "Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire". I live by these mantras. In part, they are the reason I wanted to start this travel blog journey. I don't want other people to be held back by fear, or money, or any other excuse that they can think of from doing what they love, but especially from traveling. I'm a firm believer in you can set your mind to accomplish anything. 

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If you made it this far reading, if there's any takeaways you get from my travel history, experiences, and lessons let it be this: Go out of your comfort zone, it's worth it. Buy the ticket. Don't let fear or excuses hold you back. Traveling enriches your life, expands your mind, and takes your breath away. Trust me, it's beyond worth it. 

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xx,

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The Blue Eyed Bostonian 

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