When I was very little, I wanted to be a spy.  How exciting, to camouflage in the background and collect information on others.  It was so badass to me.  I don’t know, maybe it was the danger of the mission that inspired me.

And then later I decided that my dream job would be a traveling photojournalist.  How amazing it would be, to travel the world and take photographs of other cultures, be a philanthropist and devote my days learning from other societies, reporting  the events that were unravelling in my lifetime.  And I’ve always loved to write.  I still possess some of my ‘greater’ works dating back to my childhood.  And I obviously love to take photographs.  Could you imagine getting paid to do what you love?  How many people can say that they do?  This dream did deteriorate when I met my husband.  I couldn’t imagine a life of traveling alone, being away from my loved ones for months at a time.  Catching malaria or some other devastating disease, or being robbed in an unknown territory, thousands of miles away from home…vulnerable…perhaps if I had lived the solo life, I may have been willing to gamble.

:Costa Rican Sunset:

I scanned this photo in, as it was taken by my Canon 35mm when I was 21. It was my first trip close enough to the equator to be deemed ‘warm and tropical, and outside U.S. territory’. This upcoming early Spring will be my second time venturing outside of the U.S. borders that is ‘warm and tropical’ as I am shooting the wedding of one of my closest friends. The exact location is still to be determined…such suspense!

So yes, this was from my trip to Costa Rica, and my first glance of the Pacific. I’ve been so accustomed to the sun rising near the ocean my whole life, that what a treat it was to watch it set along the sea. Every night I’d step down to the beach to watch the rich and colorful sunset. I snapped this picture, trying to include the silhouette of the palm trees within the frame. Such a rich and satisfying trip that I saved up for, to finally travel to a culture much different than the one I grew up in.

I love to travel.

And hopefully, when the opportunity arises, I may continue to snatch those chances up and escape from my normal routines in life…experience life in another corner of the world. Educate myself, and maximise my time on this earth to the fullest. Meet new people. Indulge my palette with foreign dishes, and observe the various trends in that particular moment of time. How beautiful the world is around us, and that I live in a time where I have the luxury to transport myself to resplendent destinations.

I am lucky. And I pray that I will always be thankful for the life I am living, the moments I have lived. And that I have started a business of my own, doing the things I love…photographing and writing. I may not be traveling the world, but I am taking it all in, and writing down the tales…