Traveling, writing and living around the world
In all the years I’ve been traveling and living overseas (or Stateside cities and towns that were quite a distance from Brooklyn), there were always some times that were harder than others to be so far from my family and my friends. I often found that when I was not feeling well – be it a simple cold or the flu – I felt quite homesick, but usually the most difficult times of all was the holidays.
Whenever people see me or meet me for the first time and get to know my story, they all eventually ask me one question: Do you think you’ll stick around for a while?
I’ve long been the elusive Bay Ridge girl who, if you were extra lucky, you might run into while grabbing some Peppino’s or running to the shops to grab some groceries. Home, as I’ve talked about before, is a strange and abstract concept that is always taking on new meanings and feelings, but the love that I feel here is unmatched to anywhere else I’ve felt in the world.
Though my job pays me little to no money, it does bring me some great experiences, like wining and dining all over New York City with my friends, famous chefs, mixologists, or sommeliers, and journalists from a heap of different outlets. Essentially I went from playing around the world to playing around New York City, which is – in its own right – just as cool.
Most people would assume that my passport is my most prized possession. Though it has brought me all around the world and back again, it isn’t the most important thing I own.
I knew I wasn’t staying overseas for the right reasons, but that doesn’t mean it was an easy decision to make.
When I first left Australia, I spent an entire weekend doing math (yes, I am that bad at math) figuring out my budget so that I could route out a couple of ways to keep me overseas. I left Australia with under 7 grand to my name, and it was March 2014. My goal was to travel my way to my older brother’s final World Cup tournament in September 2015 in London. That was my goal: Get myself to London.
