How can a photo change without changing at all?

First travel photo of 2023. At the time, only who I was in the moment. Now, I see a different picture, one that contains invaluable memories & lessons from around the world…

That notebook from Japan is now tattered and torn at the edges— full of tales from my travels. That backpack was snatched in Colombia, rescued, and eventually destroyed in Guatemala. That pair of pants was ripped at the thighs from a horse back ride in Morocco and tossed in the trash at a hostel in Spain. My wrist-full of bracelets was replaced with a line-up of tattoos from different places. Those shoes have holes in the soles from walking the streets of every country. My hair is longer now. I let it grow with me along the way. It is bleached from the Central American and North African sun; my curls are wild and tangled from the winds of Essaouira.

After snapping the pic, I sat for hours, writing about how I had no idea what could possibly happen next. I had arrived with no plan. No purpose. I set my intentions for 2023 to be an epic surprise. A year where I would follow the flow of Gods plan and say yes to wherever it would lead.

This journey was not met without challenge. Every facet of my negative inner self was exposed. The world rubbed me raw and placed me face to face with fear and insecurity, rejection, loneliness, and frustrations. Beyond myself, I was shown other ways of living and what it means to exist in realities vastly different from my own.

I learned how kindness is a universal currency. That there is immense value in a compassionate heart. That all you need to succeed in any country is a combination of the two; along with the willingness to understand, respect, and adapt to other cultures.

Fear and insecurity became confidence.

Rejection to acceptance.

Loneliness to fulfillment.

And all frustrations became triumphs.

After backpacking through Central and South America through the winter months, I headed east to Portugal with the intention to take a 10-day trip to Morocco. My mission was to ride stallions on the beach in the coastal city of Essaouira.

That 10-day trip turned into 8 months of learning how to ride horses, teaching english to Moroccan children, learning Darija myself, saving stray cats and learning how to fully immerse myself into the Moroccan culture. Every morning, the rooster would crow from outside my window. I'd wake up and get dressed for whatever the day had for me, whether it was a horse ride or teaching class in the medina.

On my last day in Morocco before flying home to NYC, I walked home through the vibrant maze of the bustling Medina. The faint chatter of Darija and gonowa music hummed through the cobblestone streets and followed me through the archway and out onto the street.

I reached the beach, and stared out at the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, as the sun fell slowly to the horizon. A cat scurried by with a pack of dog at it's heels. The wind pushed everything along around me. A group of camels were resting in the sand and a man galloped by on a stallion. Women dressed in hijab were whispering and giggling, a man selling pomegranate juice shouted from behind his cart, and little children played in the sand and splashed in the sea. I watched life, this life, happening harmoniously all around me. The sun slipped away and the call to prayer began. It bellowed across the city making the seagulls flutter to the sky in perfect sync.

My key clicked the lock of the front gate just as the night sky arrived. I sat on the stairs in front of my apartment door as my cats wandered over and huddled around me. I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the top of the year, landing on the photograph of me sitting in front of the fountain with my blue backpack and little notebook and white shoes.

2023 ended up not only as the year of epic adventure—but the year of courage, challenge, and change.

The year of life.

Alhumdullilah. Thank God for everything