Fairytale kind of moment. To be honest, I have never dreamt about my wedding. I’ve never cared about the dress, the food, the ring..any of it. Those things have never mattered to me. However, I’ve always known I’d want to get married on a mountain with views that take your breath away, because there is one thing I know...that it’d be impossible not to fall in love all over again, being wed with a view like this. Kim and Ryan took everyone’s breath away and I’m pretty sure we all fell in love with both of them all over again.
AMONGST GIANTS
I love how small mountains make me feel. Whether I’m standing at the bottom, the top or hanging off the side of them, I can feel their power. I know my place when I’m amongst these giants
HAPPINESS
I’m not always happy, I have severe anxiety and I struggle dealing with that aspect of my life. I’ve always found that when I’m outside, exploring new places and just genuinely enjoying this beautiful earth...I forget about all the stress and anxiety and I just feel deeply happy
OUT OF BODY
I often times feel like I’m having an out of body experience. Like I’m following my life and adventures through photos, constantly in awe of the places I’ve been to, the places I’ve stood and the places I’ve seen. I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that it’s all real. Mostly because I don’t understand how I’ve been so lucky to fall in love with and experience so many of mother nature’s beautiful places. I look at my photos and think “holy shit I was there”.
SUBTLE ART
I’ve been listening to the book ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ for the last week. I listen to it every time I’m in the car, which if you know me, is all the time. I downloaded audible randomly last week and got to choose 1 free book for 30 days. This was one of the first choices I saw. As a chic whose language isn’t often that of a lady, the title intrigued me immediately. I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since I started. It’s weird how something you don’t realize you need happens into your life when you need it most. This book has spoken to me in a way that no other book has in quite some time. I encourage everyone to read it. It’s blunt, honest and encouraging. So I’ll leave you with this, a quote from Mark Manson’s book that has stuck with me, for it’s unapologetic truth that resonated with me deeply; "Our culture today is obsessively focused on unrealistically positive expectations: Be happier. Be healthier. Be the best, better than the rest. Be smarter, faster, richer, sexier, more popular, more productive, more envied, and more admired. Ironically, this fixation on the positive only serves to remind us over and over again of what we are not, of what we lack, of what we should have been but failed to be. After all, no truly happy person feels the need to stand in front of a mirror and recite that she’s happy. She just is." I myself am guilty of this at times but I know that I am far from the best or perfect. In fact I’m quite average, I’m not the best at anything, I’m okay with failing and I know that there’s only room for me to learn and become better at whatever it is I am passionate about. I am average and I am happy
MOUNTAINS
Every time I see mountains, I get butterflies. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen that mountain, I always feel that flutter. As my dad and drove through Puyehue National Park, the peaks would peep through over trees and my heart would skip each time I caught a glimpse. By the time we were at the top of the volcano, my heart had stopped and the butterflies were taking over. I’ve seen this view multiple times, it’s not that it’s something new to me, but I’m overwhelmed by excitement and emotion just standing outside the car. We were the only ones out there. We could see for miles as we hiked along the edge of the calderas, looking out at the Andes; Argentina on one side and Chile on the other. It was silent, besides the wind, the horseflies and subtle chatter between my dad and I. Most of what we said consisted of “wow” and “holy shit”. We are great with words, I know. I love that I share so much of my love for the mountains with him. He feels the same way I do when we see those soaring peaks. It’s amazing that he grew up here and now we get to share these experiences together. This place is pretty incredible
FAMILY
Growing up, I always enjoyed spending more time with my parents and sisters than I did with friends. We went everywhere together and we traveled constantly. When we lived in France, every weekend was spent in my dads VW van, traveling somewhere new. When we moved to SC, those things didn’t change. Though we didn’t live in a small French village anymore and the Alps weren’t in our backyard, we discovered somewhere new every weekend in the Blue Ridge mountains, camping out of the VW van still, hiking and climbing as often as we could. The thing I love about my family is that we choose to spend all of our time together. When my older sister got a job in Utah, we literally all followed her out here, because we are those crazy people who follow each other wherever we go. I’m lucky to have been raised with the spirit of constant adventure alongside my best friends.
TO ALL THE WOMEN
You’re too sensitive. You’re too emotional. It’s not safe for a pretty girl like you to travel alone. You climbed to the top of that yourself? Weren’t you scared? That’s your beefed up car?! I thought it was a mans. Your arms look like a dudes. You know how to change a tire? That’s rare for a girl. Why are you mad, is it because you’re on your period?
I am sensitive, not because I am a girl but because I choose to feel deeply. I am emotional not because I am a girl but because I am empathetic. I travel alone without fear because I want to see the world. I’ve climbed to the top of many mountains, myself, while leading men. Many times I was scared, but because I am a girl, I overlooked the fear and pushed on. I drive a lifted 4Runner with all the works because it takes me to the places that most other cars can’t. I changed it’s 18” tires by myself because I had to. My arms are defined because I’ve climbed competitively for 12 years, swam for 16 and did gymnastics for 5. I’m mad because I’m allowed to be whenever the hell I want to be. My period isn’t an excuse for my attitude, it only shows my strength as I dealt with endometriosis for years. Through the doubt, the emotions, the fear and the pain. It is in all of us to defy expectations, to go into the world and to be brave, and to want, to need, to hunger for adventures. To embrace the chance and risk so that we may breathe and know what it is to be free.
I feel so blessed to be a woman. Whenever a woman is confronted with feelings of self-doubt it is so important to have a couple of strong, independent women one can look up to. They can inspire you to become a strong woman yourself that approaches life with confidence. Here is to all the strong, independent women who incite the fire of self-worth, inspiration and a good dose of sassiness within me. I am who I am because of the strong women who raised me and are who they are
PORTRAITS
I hate posed photos which makes it hard for me to do portrait photography. I prefer the candid photos when they have no idea I’m taking a photo of them. It tends to capture their true emotions at the moment. That’s what I love so much about this photo, my dads uncontrollable grinning because of the views of the mountains surrounding us. He was so happy and excited this day
ADVENTURE
An adventure can be whatever you want it to be. You don’t need to climb a mountain or jump out of a plane for it to be considered an adventure. Although I love doing both of those things, sometimes just a drive down a dirt road with no end destination is all you need. Some of my favorite adventures are those that are unplanned, unique and relaxing. Especially when it’s with good company and it involves a surprise trip to hot spring filled tubs
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
I think that if we communicated with our eyes instead of our words, there would be a lot more peace in this world. Our eyes speak straight from the soul. They tell the truth, express your feelings and tell your story better than your words ever will. When I meet people for the first time or make eye contact with a stranger or even someone on TV, I’m immediately attracted to their eyes. It’s the first thing I notice about a person. Maybe it’s just me, but I can tell a lot about a person from a look into their eyes. Maybe it’s because my eyes are so precious to me, my nearly blind eyes, they are my main tool. What do you see when you look into someone else’s eyes? Does it tell you a story or make you feel the emotions they’re feeling or do you just see eyes and nothing more? What do you see when you look into my eyes? Is there a story or just eyes between goggles and a face mask?
FOLLOW YOUR ADVENTURES
Have you ever seen a place in a magazine, movie or on your Instagram feed and thought “I have to go there”? Monument Valley was one of those places for me (thanks Forrest Gump). I saw so many photos of long boarders gliding down this very road and I knew I had to see this place in person and of course grab my longboard and ride down this infamous highway. It was surreal, being here, knocking off bucket list items. One thing I’ve learned this year is this; don’t let a job you hate or having no money or your excuses get in the way of doing things you dream of doing. Don’t keep telling yourself that one day you’ll go, because chances are you may never get to again. My life isn’t glamorous..I don’t have a steady job/income right now, I’m excited when I have more than $300 in my bank account (which is rare) and I’m living at home right now...but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything else because the thing is, I’m living my dreams, traveling the world and working my ass off to turn my passion into my career. It’s not always easy but I know it’ll be worth it. And if nothing else, I just hope that my adventures help others find theirs