I have always been a traveller. I took my first plane trip before I turned 1 year old. Growing up, my grandparents had a coffee table in their basement with currency notes from every country they had been to. I was absolutely in love with that coffee table and coveted it for quite some time. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be able to say I’ve see all 50 states and been on every continent, like my grandparents.

While having traveled quite a bit, I came to the realization that I hadn’t been very serious about this goal. So as of May 2018, I decided I will see all 50 states and 193 countries recognized by the UN. I would, ideally, like to see all 50 states before I turn 30 in a couple years. However, that is quite ambitious when you work full-time, so I am giving myself 2-5 years to see all 50 states. I am sure I will spend my life chasing the grand total of 193 countries.

I’ve decided to create some rules as I go about this personal project:

1. Nothing I have previously seen or visited counts. We are starting with an absolutely clean slate
2. I have to go there on purpose. Traveling through a state and airport stopovers will not count
3. I will document this through my blog and aim to use it as a tool for self-reflection to learn something after each trip/state
4. I will not be hard on myself about this. This is a mission in self-care and nurturing my own soul. While I have set a timeline and hope that going public with this will act as a form of accountability. But, I will be flexible and adapt the timeline if need be.
5. I will use this project to reconnect with old friends and myself.