December 5, 2018 Tattooed Back in May 2013, I went in for my first tattoo ever. I was terrified, but I spent a lot of my days back then in a constant state of anxiety. So, in an effort to push myself past my comfort zone, I sat under the needle for about an hour. I got my first tattoo, and one that would cause me a lot of controversy for a couple of years: a girl breaking out of chains.
December 2, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: Czech Republic Growing up, my parents were adamant about exposing us to our heritage. Both of my parents come from diverse backgrounds. My mother is English, Irish, Scottish, and Polish, while my father hails from Germany, Czechoslovakia, and England. Any family gathering we went to was complete with delicacies from every side of our heritage. They spared no expense when time proved available and there was a chance to explore uncharted territory. I was very blessed with a lot of chances to see England, Germany, and other parts of Europe before reaching adolescence. Among those as I reached my teenage years, Czech Republic made it onto my list of places visited.
November 28, 2018 Tips and Tricks for the Long Flights In this day and age, there’s an influx of people traveling far and wide. Many of my friends–at home and abroad–buy a plane ticket and venture off to a new country or sometimes a new continent to get away for a little while. Here on this side of the world, the popular places to go are Thailand, Japan, Bali, and Hong Kong. And Cebu, too. For my North American friends, it’s a different mix. Just take your pick! Will it be Europe? South America? The Caribbean? Somewhere close to home but not too close?
November 25, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: Sweden Twelve years ago, my father received an email from a local hockey coach. We’d barely been in the Chicagoland area a year at this point, but the coach presented an idea worthy of consideration. In the spring, coincidentally during spring break, he was taking a team to Stockholm, Sweden, and he asked if we would be willing to participate. I’d be the only girl on an all boys team (and the first girl to every participate in the tournament), which to me, was just a small detail included in the entire offer. I’d stay with a host family and we’d be there for a whole week, taking in the Swedish culture, playing against Swedes and some Finnish players, and exploring the city. In my mind, it was a no brainer: we had to go. Luckily, everything checked out. Five months later, we gathered at the airport with the team and embarked for Arlanda International Airport.
November 21, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: Greece When I was sixth grade, my history teacher introduced us about ancient civilizations. We learned about the rich ancient history in Africa, India, China, Aztec society, Incan society, and then we came to the Romans and the Greeks. I’ve always been fascinated by mythology, and Greek mythology is without a doubt my favorite. It was also around the same time that Rick Riordan released the first of his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which I still love to this day. I could open up one of those books now and feel the same amount of joy reading it as I did the first time I found them. Sixth grade was also the year that I traveled to Greece.
November 18, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: Paris Growing up in many movies I indulged in as a youngster, so much emphasis was placed upon the city of lights and romance. Paris was like this beacon of romantic expectation. I imagined being proposed to on top of the Eiffel Tower, overlooking the entirety of the metropolis beneath us. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. And I’m certain that I’m not the only one who once pictured sauntering by the banks of the Seine, eating un pain au chocolat and sipping un café, and admiring artwork in museums like the Musée d’Orsay. Needless to say, finally arriving in le Havre gave me goosebumps.
November 14, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: London I don’t remember the first time I traveled to London, mostly because I was only an infant when my parents first took me. My father used to travel a lot with his business, so we went there frequently, as well as other places in Europe. We continued to go there when I was younger, until our family grew a little bit more and things busied up enough where we didn’t have the time. But we had our fair share of family adventures, most of the time accompanied by our favorite cab driver, Charles. It wasn’t until I was eleven that I ventured there on my own with a student group.
November 11, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: Naples The tall mountains of the Mediterranean coastline seemed even larger from on top of them. I had spent the last two hours on a bus full of kids my age—twelve and thirteen years old—ascending the majestic peaks ever so slowly, each circle we did around them bringing us closer and closer to the point where I felt uncomfortable staring thousands of feet down to the small foreign fishing towns below. The mere sight of the distance between sea level and me made my stomach twist but also gave me a sense of wonder when I realized just how small the area was.
November 7, 2018 The Not-So-Snow Day in September It was a Tuesday morning in September. Third grade had just started barely two weeks earlier and I was getting used to my new teacher, Mrs. Crowe. She had long red curls and big brown eyes. When she talked, any topic she brought up was bright and cheery. She made math sound like the happiest thing in the world. Walking around as we worked on our workbooks, enthusing about how “math was the key to everything” and telling us if “we could multiply and divide, you could do anything” in that happy, cheery voice of hers. Some days, I believed what she said to be true.
November 4, 2018 A Twist in the Tail “Dude, what are we even doing out here? The party is back that way,” the taller of the two boys said. He placed a hand on the shorter boy’s right shoulder. The short boy shuddered and turned around to his companion with stiff eyes.
