The story behind how and why I started blogging…

My voice on the internet sprouted within a dream… In 2009 I was living in North Eastern Pennsylvania and I saw a movie that changed my perspective. The illustrations of impoverished children  shocked my system. I woke up the next morning without reason and declared “I need to go to Africa”. My partner at the time responded with a “Why?” to which I responded “I don’t know why, I just need to go”… It was scary, very scary. I was choosing to say no to one life while I ran turbo speed toward a future I couldn’t quite understand. But, something deep inside of me knew that staying where I was, was not where I needed to be. I had a deep feeling that my life was somewhere else, and it was. I proceeded to pack my bags, leave a partner I loved, and returned to LA with a new mission. To get myself to Africa.

Whatever it was that sparked this thing inside of me was strong. It was personal and it was deep.  I knew that whatever I was about to dream up, would inevitably change me. And, I was ready. That movie struck a cord for me. I turned into a child again. A child on a mission to return home with some kind of knowing that where I was about to go, was where I belonged. I just wasn’t exactly sure how I was getting there…

At the time, I was teaching dance to children and had been doing so for 7 years in and around the Los Angeles area. Because of my performance background I had participated in over a dozen benefit performances, by the time I was 12 and already knew that the performing arts had the potential to be of great benefit – on so many levels. In working with so many children, I was starting to recognize just how blessed I was as a child. I had a very supportive family that provided me a world of opportunities to express myself. Because of this, I felt a deep seeded motivation to return the favor to children who may have been born into less desirable circumstances. A few years prior, I transformed choreography work I was doing with the local middle school into an effective charity event. Promoting performing arts as a way to also contribute to other meaningful causes…I am so proud of the work I have done in my local community but, after seeing that movie I realized that I had a longing to teach elsewhere… to volunteer abroad. I wanted to bring dance and music to children I felt could use it as a way to potentially cope with challenging life circumstances. At this point I hadn’t traveled outside the US. Call me an idealist but I just knew this wouldn’t be a “dream deferred”. My intuition was strong. When I returned to Los Angeles I had one goal in mind, to get myself to South Africa… any way, any how. And, with the help of this little blog that I started, exactly one year later I was in Africa…How did I do it? I married WordPress and we gave birth to a blog. I had no idea what I was doing I just started sharing. This blog gave me the space to clearly express my vision and together we built a bridge, inviting others into my world.

Navigating my way around the blog-o-sphere was a challenge. Like I said, I had no idea what I was doing, if anyone was reading anything, or if any of this would go anywhere. But, it didn’t stop me from continuing to write. My family was incredibly supportive and never stopped encouraging me to listen to my intuition (even though I did secretly have my doubts at times). Our philosophy has always been “Ask and you shall receive” and it worked.

Because of this blog I was able to raise enough money to assist me in making my way to South Africa where I spent nearly 2 months teaching English & offering free Dance Classes to the Street Kids at Sinethemba Youth Development Center in Knysna, South Africa…

I also spent a considerable amount of time with the children at the Dorothy Broster Orphanage down the road dancing, bathing, and connecting with kids of all ages…

The whole experience was heart opening and it was heartbreaking at times. It was intense, joyful, and scary as hell but, it was a dream come true.

I have such a deep gratitude for this platform. Make no mistake, I worked my ass off to afford this trip. But, I also fundraised through my wordpress blog and with the help of my community, we made it happen. Sidenote: this was all before social media blew up and Gofundme stuff was really a thing. For one year I diligently posted updates, info about the volunteer program, and continued to put my vision out there. I poured myself into this blog. I had no idea if anyone was listening but, I felt compelled to share. Maybe that is why this experience is so near and dear to me. It required blind faith. I am indebted to this blog, its followers and visitors, and feel a deep sense of gratitude to all of the above. After a life changing volunteer trip to South Africa in 2009, I spent most of 2011 in South East Asia teaching kids in Bali and Southern Thailand and blogging my way through new experiences.

I really fucking love traveling, i love working with kids, and I am totally inspired to write about my time doing both of these things.  I hope you’ll continue following my unpredictable ass as I write my way through more adventures… attempting to figure out what it means to be human and how to be a better one, day by day. So there you have it, that’s the story of how and why I started blogging. And that’s all she wrote… for now 😉