Who Am I?

I feel that it is appropriate to introduce myself in this journey of mine that I have no idea where it will lead me. Your guess is as good as mine, but I appreciate you coming along. I want this post to feel like a conversation (like a young kid listening to an old person tell the stories of their life).

I was born and (mostly) raised in Los Angeles, California, although a small portion of my life I grew up in Uriangato, Mexico (but I will leave that story and review for another time). When I say I grew up in Los Angeles, I mean my postal address actually had "Los Angeles." However, I have recently moved and am now that person who says "I live in Los Angeles," when in reality I live in a neighboring city. That happens often here. I grew up in the south Los Angeles, a place full of sandpaper-type "roughness" where us kids were just struggling to put our differences aside and simply get along-- and we did. LA is the place known for "NWA," Mexican food, wearing sunglasses at night, traffic, food trucks, "el paletero," Smiths-fans, and "Los Doyers."

I work in a non-profit preschool (not a teacher) close to the beach (aka my commute sucks). I work with low-income and at-risk families. I enjoy what I do. I love meeting people and hearing their struggles and stories. However, I always felt there was something more for me out there and hence why I decided to do this. As for my education, I have a degree in English and journalism that I received over a decade ago. I am pretty sure I forgot all of the basics that I paid good money to learn, but regardless the passion never dies. However, thanks to the soul-crushing economy at the time and massive demand for money, I wasn't able to develop that passion professionally as I deeply desired to. I did create two other blogs over the years that didn't really lead anywhere. One was a poetry blog (Rx Mental Crumbs) and the other was a music review blog (Rx Music Fusion). Poetry is a hobby for me and music is a delicate industry to dive into. Mad respect to my fiancé though, who has probably met every single worthwhile living music star in the whole damn universe.

As an adult I discovered my interest to see and experience the world in every aspect. Later in life I met my friends and fiancé that helped me develop that interest for traveling and wandering around the world. Pair that with my zest for enjoying life and this blog was born. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying creating it and planning it. The goal is not just to simply travel and write reviews to tell you the best places to eat, because (honestly) who do I think I am, Anthony Bourdain? No, most definitely not. Obviously, I am not a professional and simply a person trying to share my personal experiences or first impressions of the world that chose me to live in it. I won't only be talking about international travel, but also places to go to and things to do in my own backyard. I might also talk about other places in California. The world is big. There is a lot to talk about. I want to combine my background and passions to paint a picture for you and help you experience what I experience, through words. If only for a moment or an hour in your day, I want to bring you along with me to see the good, the bad, and the ugly that the world has to offer.

Madrid, Spain - August 2013