Traveling Insights: An Inside Perspective

Qué causalidad que cuando me encuentro en Costa Rica para las vacaciones de primavera, mis clases de la universidad cambian para ser virtuales, mi trabajo de investigación tiene límites de viajar por el trabajo y puedo hacer todo de mi computadora. Mientras todos están de pánico en el resto del mundo, estoy aquí disfrutando la playa mientras tomo alguna bebida tropical y mirando el mar. Cuando estás abierta a lo que la vida te trae, no puedes evitar que esta situación es increíble. Único. Y voy a aprovechar de todo que el universo me está dando en este momento. ¿Qué—o quién—me trajo el universo? Pues, primero, un compañero de baile, una fuente de espíritu positivo y ojalá que un compañero de vida desde ahora en adelante. Hablaré más de eso en los días que vienen, pero en este momento, quiero expresar mi gratitud por la felicidad, el sol, este ambiente tropical en que me encuentro hoy, y ojalá por dos semanas extra que esperaba inicialmente. Bueno, para los lectores que e...

Whether you’ve taken a few trips on your own or you’ve never traveled solo before, it’s never a bad idea to consider the way your thought processes—i.e. your ability to handle stress—impacts your travel experiences. It’s amazing how simple planning strategies (such as allowing yourself extra time, minimizing the number activities in a day, assuming less than ideal conditions) allows you to be present and enjoy the moment with the strangers in your company. On Day 1 of my first trip to Costa Rica, I felt eternally grateful for for a year’s worth of training my mind to operate differently so that I'm so calm I can actually meditate in the line for customs and immigration. How’s that for mindfulness?!  Here's a simple list of 5 mindset shifts that have helped me while traveling alone, which you may find helpful as you embark on your own journey: Mindset shift #1: Always expect to pay $15 for a single food item at the airport If it turns out that the price is an...

I am on a quest. My quest started, I believe, the day I was born. When the forces that be put me on this planet, I think they had something pretty rad in mind. Till this day I'm not quite sure what it is, but my ability to imagine, design, manifest, and guide certain aspects of my life to channel a particular kind of energy - whether love, kindness, gratitude, joy, forgiveness, sorrow, or rage - has most certainly improved. I am so grateful for the people in my life who have been real with me. The ones who call my bullshit and know when I'm not being honest with myself. I'm grateful for everyone who told me to listen to my gut, follow my intuition, and trust that things have a way of working themselves out. I am grateful for all of the personal development podcasts, books, and blog articles that instilled in me a greater control of my own mindset to open doors that I didn't even know existed. "Purposes are deduced from behavior, not from rhetoric or sta...

It's December 29th, just days away from the end of 2019, and I don't feel as though I've properly recapped some of the most important moments of the year since September. Returning to Kansas last week, and being open to what the experience might bring, allowed me to return feeling energized for the future. I am quite excited to share what I've been up to and what's on the docket for 2020! This fall I was working three jobs. I served as the Action Team lead for the Metro Food Access Network 's Transportation Action Team, worked as a Research Assistant for North Circle Seeds through the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and maintained my position as Social Media Strategist and Thought Partner with Voices for Rural Resilience. Not only did I expand my network, but I had lots of time to reflect on who I am as a person and how to distinguish my brand as a person from those around me through my participation in the Integrated Foo...

You may not be one now. But you probably know an older adult. What makes them 'older'? Is there a certain threshold? I wouldn't think there should be, but by most Federal standards 65 seems to be the number that sticks. As we age our bodies change. The processes of renewal slow, our minds begin to wander, and sometimes the abilities of our neurons to connect fail to fire in the way they used to. I've had the honor and privilege to spend countless hours with older adults, starting when I was 17 and picked up a gig serving at the retirement home near my high school. I was brave enough to stick it out, even after all the times I brought out the wrong order, or skipped a table on accident. The seven years I spent at Meadowlark Estates were some of the most fruitful years of my life because I never felt like I had a shortage of family support. Over servings of oatmeal, shepherd's pie, and sugar-free vanilla ice cream, I got to know those residents better than mos...

It's been ten days since I returned from my trip home to Kansas. Ten days that have felt like ten weeks. I'm not sure if it's because of dramatic events at home, the start of classes, or the beginning of a beautiful new friendship, but I was reminded today of the importance of writing, even if only for myself. I'm done worrying about if what I say is right or politically correct or polished. I'm starting to notice that the more raw we are with each other the more likely the relationship will last. The gratitude that I feel for all the places and people in my life are kind of overwhelming at this moment in time. Over the coming weeks I hope to highlight the value of these relationships and how they've gotten me to where I am today, but for now, it's worth recapping one of the most emotional weeks of the year and what you have to gain from making time for people that matter. My time back in Lawrence began to fill in pieces of the puzzle what home is, ...

Sometimes you forget about the things you've thought. Or you don't realize how powerful the thoughts were until you've read them again. It's kind of like looking through old photos, and being reminded of the perspective that you had about the landscape around you, the memories you were making. There's huge value in re-reading what you've written, especially when it's been months since you wrote. My offering to you today is a single piece of advice: Re-read what you've written. You could get by skipping the rest of this and walking away right now, but you might miss some key reasons why the act of re-reading is so important. 5 reasons why you should re-read your personal journal 1. You will remind yourself of the things that you love and might have let fall to the way side Re-reading a passage that I wrote back in February while traveling for a wedding, I forgot that I had written about wanting to not live in a city. "...living in a rur...