Over time, I have learned the importance of supporting your outer world to reflect the highest expression of your inner world. And, to allow that to change and evolve over time, as you do. For a very dark and pivotal period of my earlier life, home was not a happy place in the traditional sense. I think this outer environment, at the time, was what motivated me to create a strong sense of home from within. Essentially, a place where I could let my guard down, exhale, listen, create, and be honest with myself. This manifested into many songs, drawings, late night drives, and dreams of travel.

Today, I am celebrating!  I began an art series titled, “Sketch of the Day” a little over a month ago, and have stayed with this daily practice successfully.  In fact, it now feels awkward to go through a full day without drawing.  Most of the sketches so far have been pen and ink studies, though for a few of them I wrote inspirational quotes or played a musical sketch on piano.  The motivation behind starting “Sketch of the Day” was to build my consistency--to be engaged in creating something new, source daily inspiration, and develop my ability as an artist. 

For me, the connection between books and travel is inseparable. It is through books that I became emboldened to dream and imagine myself into other experiences. Places far beyond anything I had ever known. Seeing the artwork, reading the stories of others and their adventures abroad--these were the seeds that planted the beginning of my own journey as a traveler. I like to think of books as navigation tools, in opening doors within us and beyond us. They help us chart the course of our own journeys, and inspire us to take the next step.