One Year of TwT

Just like that, a year has gone by. An extremely full, crazy, challenging, wonderful, unpredictable, refreshing, and inspiring year. A year full of travels for this Tavel.

I started T w T on July 7, 2009. As I’ve mentioned, I had a mini epiphany after I got hurt pretty badly by someone I trusted, for the second time. After the wave of crushing disappointment retreated, something strange happened: things that had been unclear for years suddenly became completely transparent, and I realized how important it was for me to follow my passion no matter what, no matter who, no matter why, no matter where…

This blog doesn’t just capture what has happened in my life, and what big and little trips I’ve take outside of NYC during the past 365 days; it represents the up and down journey that comes with following your passion or dream (not to sound cheesy but… yeah, cheese). My life has been one big mixed bag of adventures and possibilities this past year, and I would have NEVER predicted I’d be writing the one-year post at a MacBook in an apartment in Quito, Ecuador, as a travel writer.

In this year of T w T, I’ve gotten my hopes up, I’ve gotten them destroyed, I’ve been offered amazing opportunities, I’ve had people take them away, I’ve been hospitalized, I’ve been in love, I’ve been heartbroken, and I’ve been confused. I’ve traveled to Oregon, Arizona, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, the Dominican Republic, Chicago, Rome, Pompeii, Vatican City, Argentina, and Ecuador. I’ve hiked through mud at 4,000 meters, I’ve seen Matt Damon run by, I’ve watched Argentina lose, I’ve watched the US win, I’ve soaked in natural hot springs, I’ve gone horseback riding in the Pampas, I’ve done yoga on the beach of Hispaniola two weeks before the earthquake hit Haiti, I wandered the ancient city of Pompeii one week before the eruption in Iceland. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve taken risks, I’ve followed my gut, and I’ve lived the dream — even if that dream has sometimes felt like a nightmare.

Thank you for tuning into all of it. And thank you for one year of traveling with this random 26-year-old Tavel, who is slowly but surely figuring out where she is, and always learning more about where she wants to go next…