WellTraveled: Where It All Began.
WellTraveled wasn’t just an idea to create something—a name, a brand, a website, a consulting agency, a blog. It was about sharing what I had already built–my life. A life I’m proud of and one I’ve always dreamt of living. A life WellTraveled.
It all began in my fourth-grade social studies class.
In an attempt to teach us about the 50 states, Mrs. David allowed each student to pick a state to research and present on. Given that the project would require me to draw this state by hand, I went with Colorado–a safe bet. I became obsessed with my chosen state, imagining its jagged mountains, vast and colorful landscapes, and open skies. The thought that the world could look so different from the view outside my classroom window blew my mind. Starting then, I told anyone who would listen that I’d move out West the first chance I got, and I meant it.
Questions like, “What do you want to be when you grow up?’ always received a different answer, but the vision of where I’d be doing it never did. I was born to be in the mountains.
Even when I met the man of my dreams, the plan never changed. Everyone knew the vision: one day, I was heading to Colorado. Throughout high school and college, I took every chance to visit the mountains, sometimes visiting Colorado three or four times a year. My fascination with different places only deepened from there.
In high school, I made a tough decision to retire from the sport I had played competitively for over a decade to work part-time jobs—florist, lifeguard, babysitter, tutor, retail, etc., to fund international trips. Trust me, I still can’t believe I ever convinced my parents to let me travel internationally without them at such a young age. I traveled around Central America to discover that my love for adventure stretched far beyond the mountains of Colorado.
By college, my wanderlust had only grown. In 2019, I backpacked around Europe, visiting over ten countries in two months.
Then, I did what I’d always promised myself. I moved to Colorado.
Not long after, the ending of a seven-year relationship led me into a year of personal reinvention, which, naturally, meant even more adventures. Living in Colorado, I frequently found myself on road trips out West, ski trips around the Rockies, and taking spontaneous getaways to places like Hawaii and Norway. During this time, I realized how much travel was shaping me—each trip left me feeling more alive and in love with life–my life.
One year and another difficult heartbreak later, adventure and the outdoors weren’t the only things I’d turn to–writing became my lifeline. I’ve kept a journal semi-religiously since middle school, but now more than ever, it was my therapy. One day, when I was feeling particularly down, I read through old journal entries hoping to find some perspective. Over the course of a few years, I noted how much pain I’d suffered: homesickness, loss of friendships, culture shock, grief, several heartbreaks, career changes, and identity crises, you name it. I sat there wondering if it was all worth it in the end. What did I get out of all of this? I’d become the woman I’d always envisioned– I became WellTraveled.
See, traveling isn’t about how many pins you tack onto a map or how much money you have, but who you become along the way, how you face the unknown, the foreign, and the inevitable adversities of life.
Whenever I returned home, I was always met with comments like, "You’re so brave, I could never do what you do!" or "How do you even start? I wouldn’t know where to begin." Then, I realized, that if I could do it, so could others. Plus, dozens of people already consulted me regularly to plan big adventures, so, I thought I’d take a chance at making it official. I’d create WellTraveled.
That, paired with the fact that people in my life have been urging me for years to take my writing more seriously, brewed the perfect storm, and suddenly, Journals of the WellTraveled was born. This isn’t just a blog or a travel consulting agency. It’s a way of life, one that I’m eager to share with you. Along the way, I’ll be telling stories—past and present—of a girl who dared to do it all. In sharing, I hope you realize that you too can be WellTraveled.
Book a consultation today, and let’s start planning your next adventure. Stay tuned for the story of how I uprooted my Colorado Dream for an entirely new adventure… Coming Soon.
