Every month, I sit down with my planner and reflect. What was the most memorable part of the past month? What am I proudest of? What are my lessons learned? Who am I grateful for? How am I different? This pause allows me the time and space to reflect on how I’m living my life, … Continue reading Lessons Learned from 2025
For as long as I remember, the thought of time slipping away like sand through my fingers has always unsettled me. On a trip across the world, it can be even harder to stay present in the moment without getting caught up in where you are heading next or how quickly the days are passing. … Continue reading Lessons from the Strait of Magellan
We had a big drive to get to El Chaltén, Argentina, a young town that was only just founded in 1985 during border disputes in the mountains it was nestled beneath. After three hours in the car and our first border crossing (which was completed entirely in Spanish), we reached a crossroads: continue on the … Continue reading Arriving in Argentina & Turning 30
January 3, 2025 Our plane touched down more than 6,000 miles away from home, and the thrill of wanderlust was already fire in my veins. I looked out the window at the treeless landscape, a rugged expanse of wind and ocean waves. Hundreds of miles away, granite peaks & spires loomed over glacial lakes, arid … Continue reading Patagonia: Navigating Our Trip of a Lifetime
I never wanted to visit the tropics. Throughout my life, the threat of heat, humidity, and who-knows-how-many venomous snakes, spiders, and insects lurking in the foliage were all reason enough to keep my wanderlust-filled heart far away from any equatorial rainforests. Even as a child, I imagined poison dart frogs leaping from the trees to … Continue reading Stepping into the Rainforest in Costa Rica
It's far easier to come up with excuses not to do something than reasons to go for it. Sure, sometimes there are legitimate obstacles standing in our way, and other times, it just doesn't pan out. But I believe we would be shocked to realize the amount of time that we are simply holding ourselves … Continue reading Into the Unknown: My Week as a Naturalist on an Alaskan Disney Cruise
John & I set off on our two-day journey on Friday morning, packed and ready for the longest bike ride either of us had ever done. Our destination: Mounds View Grassland, a property owned and managed by The Prairie Enthusiasts that was sure to have specialist grassland bird species I would have a hard time finding by bike in Madison. Still, it was 35 miles away.
I stare at the cards in front of me—78 of them, to be exact. Each one is adorned with bold, colorful illustrations, along with a single word. Words like mindfulness, generosity, compassion, and order. Each of these signify a value — a belief or principle that we believe is important to guiding the way that … Continue reading Reflections on Solstice: Living a Life of Values
On June 3rd, 2016, a chance meeting in Denali National Park led to a friendship that founded love. Seven years to the day later, John pulled out a mountain-engraved ring on a Lake Michigan beach and asked me to marry him. This is our story.
If I were to assign a word to the past year, it would be “acceptance”. Acceptance of the things I cannot control, the people I cannot change. Acceptance of the things I can. Acceptance of the fact that I am in control of my own happiness and expectations, of fulfilling my own needs. This fall, … Continue reading 2022: A Year of Living Slowly
The Curiosity Chronicles 