The Start

Starting from the charming town of Thomasville, Georgia.

Everyone at one time or another struggles to understand who they are, what they want to do and what they want to be. I still struggle with this. As a kid you know what you’re going to be when you grow-up or at least you know you’ll have it figured out by the time are a grown-up, which must be age 18.

For a time, I thought I wanted to be an advertising copywriter, and eventually a creative director. I religiously read the blog Makin’ Ads by Greg Christensen for years, watched my YouTube playlist of commercials, visited many agency websites and re-read It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden.  This led me to a solo train trip to Richmond, Virginia for an interview with the VCU Brandcenter.

I didn’t want to settle for less than the BEST. I didn’t even apply to the several other schools I toured. I made up my mind. I was going.

Until I found out I didn’t get in…

But I thought about that trip: riding the train; catching the bus; and walking the city to discover stores, parks, restaurants and  museums. I thought about the late night conversations with Jennifer of Adventure Often my Couchsurfing host. I thought about how much I feel at home wandering.

What did I want to do really? I thought back… all the way back to fourth grade. Young enough that when declare you’re going to be a princess or an astronaut no one is going to give you the eye and sarcastically sneer, “Good luck with that.” I wanted to be a journalist for National Geographic.

I recognize that my chances are slim, now if National Geographic wants to send me off, I’m not saying “no”, but I also never thought I would be building websites for a living. I mean, let’s think about the internet when I was in the fourth grade. It was this elusive thing called the World Wide Web and you sat there for FOREVER wondering if it was EVER going connect. I gave up. It was really just an encyclopedia anyway, right?

It occurred to me I could work from anywhere, but I hadn’t any real-life examples of people living that life. Then I met Dave of Adventuring Art at the Hostel in the Forest.  Dave had traveled across the U.S., by both train, car and bicycle. We struck up a conversation and I found out we both were graphic designers and worked with WordPress. I was inspired to make my dream a reality.

I started my own business, Gallery Wrapped in August. Since that time, I have traveled quite a bit for family. I traveled to Winter Haven, FL to help my mom move, caught the train to Miami to visit friends, and rang in 2013 with my dad in Franklin, NC.

I’m very excited about my upcoming explorations. Yes, I know many of you are worried about me, but  rest assured that I have packed a car kit and have learned some basic self-defense through Krav Maga. I personally am not terribly worried, because I know that this is the life I am supposed to live.