On Sequels!

I wanted to do a new kind of post today because today is an amazing day for sequels! Today 3 of my favorite debut novels are all getting sequels and I love that they get to share such a big day!

First up we have Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto which is near and dear to my heart since I'm on the street team. I'm actually 200 pages into it and having a hard time putting this 600+ page tome down!
Here's a snippet of the review I posted last year, "If it isn't obvious, I can't get enough of this book. Nicki is an incredible writer and I can't wait to see where she goes next!" Well, I finally got this hot little (okay HUGE) book in my hands and LET ME TELL YOU IT IS GREAT. I got the owlcrate special edition (WHICH IS STILL FOR SALE) and it is simply stunning! Oh and be sure to watch my Instagram this week because I'm going to be giving away 2 coasters with original art by my fellow patrol member, Franzi (aka @snoillustrations on IG)!

Second we have Storm from the East by Joanna Hathaway. This is the follow up novel to Dark of the West, which I actually just finished yesterday! I was in love. This plot feels real and these characters stayed with me long after I set the book down! I am on the edge of my seat waiting to know how Ali and Athan end up! I'm also really excited because I'm meeting both Joanna and Nicki on Saturday at the Niagara on the Lake Library! More to come next week!

And last but certainly not least we have Sensational by Jodie Lynn Zdrok. Her debut Spectacle was one of my all time favorite books last year. A historical, murder mystery that left me completely enthralled! I've never wanted to visit a morgue more than while reading about the Paris one of old! This sequel promises so much more fun and murder that I am impatiently waiting for my library hold to come in! And the amazingly lovely author actually has a preorder campaign going on that includes requesting the book at your local library instead of just including those who can afford the book. If I didn't already adore Jodie this would have made me a fan!

Did I convince you? Are you going to pick any of these titles up? I hope so! Let me know in the comments or on IG @bookwormextraordinaire!

~Laura!

On the Buffalo Reading Invasion!

You are probably wondering what a Reading Invasion even is, right? WELL LET ME ENLIGHTEN YOU! Reading Invasions are basically a flashmob of readers. Every summer here in Buffalo since 2012 local readers invade a park for an hour and we READ. It is really that simple, but it is a whole lot of fun! Last night was the first of the 2019 season! An hour of blissful reading with a crazy number of other book nerds!

I think my first Reading Invasion was in June of 2013 (at least according to the bookmark pictured above). I remember it vividly (besides the date). It took place at Bidwell Park, where the first Invasion of the year is always at. I remember looking around about a half hour in and seeing all these people absorbed in their books! It was a wonderful feeling! These were my kind of people.

I also noticed at my first invasion that passerbys giving us curious looks. Never before had they seen such a sight! What were we doing? Why were we all just sitting there? WERE WE ALL JUST READING? WHAT WAS GOING ON? It was lovely to see that confusion and find out later on that most of those people actually showed up and read themselves at the next Invasion! Spreading the love of books for the WIN! Last night I looked up again and saw no passerbys giving us looks because it has become such a Buffalo Summer thing that it is widely known, accepted, and cherished! How lucky are we to live in such a place?! I like that I see familiar faces from Invasions past and that every year it gets bigger and bigger!

One of my favorite aspect of the Buffalo Reading Invasion (other than the reading itself) is that besides the first one of the season, they are held in a different park every month! If I’m not mistaken the invasion very rarely goes to the same park twice and I can see why! Buffalo has something like 180 parks or something crazy number like that! Going to an Invasion brings you to a park of the City you may not have discovered before! I love that the first Invasion of the year is always at Bidwell though. There is a independent bookshop practically in Bidwell Park and every year when the Invasion is there I go in, look around, and always buy a new book. One year it was a Doctor Who book, last year it was the 3^rd book in the Three Dark Crowns series! This year I bought A Curse So Dark and Lonely and ran into a coworker!

Here is a panoramic view of the Invasion last night! Look at all those readers!

The Buffalo Reading Invasions remains one of my all time favorite things to go to in the summer! 

If you'd like to learn more or find out when and where the next Invasion will be check out the website here or like the official Facebook page here! 

I hope to see you and your book next month!

~Laura!

TEN YEARS!!!

Ten years ago today, 16 year old me started this blog for a purely selfish reason. The idea of reviewing books came to me when I won a contest for an Advanced Review Copy of one of Meg Cabot's books. On the back cover it said that it was an ARC and I had never heard of such a thing. When I realized that I could get books for free, before they were released I did everything in my 16 year old power to make that a reality. This blog was the place I would record the reviews I wrote in exchange for those advanced copies.

As I graduated High School and moved into College I had less time to devote to my reviews. I was reading less Young Adult novels, which was primarily all I had read and reviewed. As I evolved throughout College so did my blog. I started to review less ARCs and more library books of all genres. I've never been consistent with what I had read so why should my reviews be limited to the advanced copies? As I moved away from those, less got sent to me which was a relief as it had gotten out of hand.

I could never consistently post blogs either because life is busy! I never stopped reading, but I didn't always want to review the books I had read so I started writing more blogs that had nothing to do with books. I expanded my posts to what had become a minor obsession for me after I had graduated college and that was traveling. I became what I like to call a literary tourist. A lot of my trips involved places I had read about in books. I write about what caused me to go somewhere and what I saw when I got there.

If I had to pick a favorite type of post I love the ones like this, when I just write whatever it is I am thinking. Ten years ago a post like this never would have happened. This blog has always surprised me. I've had friends tell me about this local blog they had found, only to realize that it was mine (when I started this I used an assumed name as I had been a minor). I have also had some backlash over what I have written, both in reviews and about my adventures. This blog is almost a digital version of my life and it would be unrealistic if I didn't have problems here too.

Bookworm Extraordinaire is no longer strictly a book blog like it was when I started it 10 years ago. I originally envisioned that my reviews would one day become my profession. Now it is just a hobby, something for me to see how I have grown. People tell me they are impressed with my writing that they have seen sampled here, but like anyone I will always have doubts. Some consider me a writer because of what they've read here, but I don't think I will ever see myself that way. I'm not quite sure what will make me change my mind but rest assured if I figure it out I will probably write about it here!

I'm not sure what the future has to hold for me or for this blog, but looking back I can't believe how far this has taken me. I have had over 300 readers and when I reached that milestone I did a giant giveaway! My love of reading has sent me to two Book Cons in New York City, several wonderful Teen Book Festivals, and so many book signings! I have met so many other bloggers and readers at those events that no matter what I'm reading someone I know is reading it too so I always have someone to gush with! My travel bug sent me to two trips overseas including a 6 week solo backpacking trip. But most importantly it has allowed me to go on countless adventures, both real and read! Here's to the next ten years, bookworms and fellow adventurers! Thank you all so much for sticking with me!

~Laura!

Some Thoughts on National Geographic Live with Ami Vitale!

I'm not sure I can explain to you the overwhelming excitement I felt when I found out that one of my favorite photographers, Ami Vitale was coming to Buffalo! No one ever comes here so it was a huge surprise! There was no way I was missing it, especially since it was at Kleinhans!

Ami gave a talk on Rhinos, Rickshaws, and Revolutions. If you are a fan of National Geographic you may have seen her recent photos of the passing of Sudan. He was the last male of his species, the Northern White Rhino. Ami told us about how she had done a story on Sudan and his daughters were being moved from the Czech Republic to Kenya and that she had grown close to their keepers. Close enough that when Sudan became too old for him to have a good quality of life and his keepers made the hard decision to put him down they had Ami come to Kenya to say good bye. If that doesn't tell you how special a soul Ami is then I'm not sure what will.

Ami dropped everything secure in her life to become a photo journalist so that she could bring stories to the World. She spent a decade covering conflicts that most people have forgotten, such as Kosovo and Cashmir. She made such strong connections there and through her photos brought those connections to the rest of the World. She has the ability to empower and amplify voices of the individuals like no other photographer I have seen.

But at one point, enough was enough, Ami couldn't be around war anymore. She wanted to take a break from everything, but then she was offered to do story about trees. And that opened her up to nature and wildlife conservation photography, which is my favorite. She got to go to China and observe how scientists there choose which babies should stay in captivity and which should be trained to go into the wild! She even had to wear a panda suit. Ami, once again, showed how special she is because of how she photographed one of the Pandas going into the wild for the first time: she donned a special camouflage suit that made her look like a bush while no other journalist thought to take Hope's feelings into account. Ami did and was rewarded by Papa Panda! She got to hold not one but two baby pandas. A dream come true for most people. (Obama only got to hold one if that tells you anything!!)

Ami Vitale and I!

I could go on and on about Ami's talk, (I took a copious amount of notes) which will stay in my heart and mind for a very long time, but I don't want to spoil too much in case one day you are lucky enough to hear her speak as well! I wholly encourage you to try to! And she has a book on her experience with the pandas coming out next month! You can pre-order Panda Love: The Secret Lives of Pandas by Ami Vitale at any of your favorite booksellers!!

Oh and not only was I able to hear her speak about her long and amazing career I was lucky enough to meet her after! I was a bundle of nerves, but I didn't make a fool of myself! In fact, even she agreed that we were kind of sharing a wave length! I couldn't help but mention how my work mirrors hers in a way I didn't realize until hearing her speech! She is frequently in the company of people who live their lives in service of orphaned wildlife, which is what I do in my rehabilitation work. And she told a story about how while at the World's Largest Camel Fair people would take photos of locals without even asking their names or even for something as simple as permission! This hit home with me because of my own photography project on Instagram called The Name of Strangers, where I do just the opposite of those tourists, I purposely go up to strangers and ask them their names, ask them the stories behind their names and ask if I may take their portrait! I was honored that Ami loved the idea and took one of my business cards. Having a World renowned National Geographic Explorer and Photographer think my idea is a good one means so much I cannot even begin to tell you!

The takeaway for me from meeting Ami was about how empathy is the most important thing individuals can use to make the world they want to live in, remembering to see the whole picture and look past the doom and gloom headlines because inevitably there will be something or someone who warms your heart just behind it!  

~Laura!

On Hostels

Recently I was asked about hostels and I thought it would be a good blog topic!

The first time I stayed in a hostel was in Rome during my backpacking trip in 2016. I stayed in hostels the entire time I was in Europe because I was on a budget. Hostels are the only reason I could afford going abroad for 6 weeks.

Hostels are fabulous for solo travellers because they are cheap, you meet a lot of likeminded people, and they are a great resource for things to do while you are wherever you are! But how are you supposed to choose which one? I have become a pro at hostels.

The first thing I look for is which is the cheapest hostel in the area I would like to stay in. Now, the price depends on which kind of dorm you want to stay in. I do not mind mixed dorms because they are usually cheaper, but if the female only dorm isn't too much more I choose that (mostly because I have found that guys snore way louder than girls). Size of the dorm is also a factor on the price. The largest dorm I have stayed in was a mixed 36 bed dorm in Prague (the Czech Inn. Ha, get it?) and the smallest is usually 4 beds. I've stayed in a few of those and they are pretty nice. But that 36 bed wasn't awful! It was a huge room, but had wall dividers and had 4 to 6 beds in each so it seemed smaller. (An unimportant, but amusing side note on the Czech Inn: the guy that checked me in looked like a young Orlando Bloom so it has that going for it too). I also always try to find the right hostel in a centrally located area. It doesn't always work out though so I try to make sure I can access public transport easily as well.

While in Europe the second big thing I looked for was 24 hour reception, security, and luggage storage as my arrival and departure times were so wonky. I needed to be able to check in late and needed to leave my pack some place safe on my last day in whatever city before I left. (Oh be sure to bring a lock! Try to make it TSA approved so you can also use it on your luggage! I used it a lot on lockers. I also brought a bike chain cause I'm nuts. When my pack didn't fit I would lock it to my bed. Honestly, though no one wants your dirty underwear. Just don't keep important crap in there and you'll probably be fine!)

The third thing that I had no idea to look for when I first booked all those hostels for Europe, 8 in all, was a booklight under the listed facilities. I noticed that every hostel that had a booklight usually had plugs for each bed. Plugs are so important. But remember to look under the facilities listed for things you may prioritize, too, like towels or breakfast. I also email the hostel beforehand to ask them if they assign specific beds. I do this because I am horrible with top bunks because hostels always have bunk beds, it's like a rule and if they do I ask for a bottom one. I've never been denied if they are assignable. Sometimes they are first come first serve and then I just have to pray.

Finding hostels in major European cities is easy! Finding them here in the USA has been a little tricky. They just aren't as big here. I've stayed in only 2 here so far, one in Boston and one in NYC. Finding the NYC one particularly difficult because a lot of them do not allow New York State residents which is obnoxious. Before booking a hostel you should always look to see if they have restrictions such as residency or age. I don't know what I'm gonna do when I'm older and travel. Cry probably.

Oh and always read the reviews! They are always helpful. Although take some of them with a grain of salt as people complain about the silliest and most minor things. Sometimes a hostel can look fantastic and then you read the reviews and you run away. A lot of the time with those complaints listed the hostel will reply with an apology. I think that sometimes cancels out most of the bad review because obviously if they are really paying attention to their reviews logic says they probably would have tried to help if the complaint was lodged in person instead of in a passive aggressive review weeks later.  (Oh by the way, I always use hostelworld.com. I'm not like a paid sooner or anything I just like their site).

Told you my Scottish Hostel felt like
a castle! This is a mural painted in a
staircase! 

Only once have I felt unsafe in a hostel (here's looking at you Birmingham Central Backpackers and your creepy live in people), but on the whole they are pretty great! (No, I have not seen the movie Hostel. I am not going to either. Don't worry my brother gave me all the ridiculous gritty details). My favorite hostel was Castle Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland! It was literally next to the castle and it had a castle vibe inside and was beautiful and they did your laundry and sold amazing backpacking tours (hey shoutout to Macbackpackers whoo) and so much more. I want to stay there every time I go to Edinburgh. I would be one of those live in people, but not creepily so. I just really loved that hostel. I'm almost home sick for that hostel and Edinburgh and Scotland.

Anyway, my love of the Scots aside, what I'm getting at here is that hostels are the best. Hostels don't have to be scary. They are amazing and they make cheap travel so much easier and better!

~Laura!

On Earth Day!

Confession time: I love Earth Day. So much so that in college I wrote an entire paper on it's history and why it is so important! I believe every day is a day to celebrate and protect our planet, but I particularly love April 22^nd! I love that everyone talks about the facts, create beautiful art work, and share tips on how each and every one of us needs to change our ways to protect the only place we have to live.

Here are some Earth Day Facts. Some of these are about how Earth day came about and some are about why every day needs to be treated like Earth Day.

-Earth Day as we know it today was created in 1970 and marks the anniversary of our modern version of the environmental movement.

- It was a bipartisan effort. It was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, whose co-chair was Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman.

-The first Earth Day led to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Endangered Species Act!

-It was originally just a US holiday, but in 1990 it went Global thus creating an even bigger impact.

I mentioned beautiful art work right? One of my favorite photographers, Joel Sartore's work is a big influence on me. His photo project the Photo Ark brings endangered animals to the forefront. He takes studio portraits of animals before they can go extinct. When you see his photos of these animals you can see their souls and you can't help but want to protect them. He always shares his work but it is particularly important when he shares on Earth Day. I also follow a lot of animal, environmental, and worldwide charities and they all share their favorite work. I always adore that google has a special doodle! This year it is of Jane Goodall!

And perhaps the best part of Earth Day is people talking about how we can all be better. There are so many small ways you can change your daily routine that will help so much in the long run! Some of my favorites are:

-Shut off the water when you are brushing your teeth! You can save gallons of water just by switching off that tap because you don't use it when you are actually brushing just when you rinse! So simple, but so important!

-Pass on plastic straws. When in restaurants just don't use them. There is no real need for them. If you are like me and use straws to avoid upsetting sensitive teeth, you can ask for no ice because your drink is already going to be cold. Plastic straws cannot be recycled and are so often found in oceans. If you really do need one for whatever reason you can get a heavy duty one and bring it with you! Every piece of plastic ever created since its invention is still on Earth. It takes near 400 years for it to break down.

-Another thing you can do in restaurants is bring your own tupperware when you think you will be bringing left overs home! Styrofoam isn't regularly recyclable and it takes 500 years to degrade. I got this tip from a friend of mine! I couldn’t believe I never thought of it!

-Bring reusable shopping bags when you shop! They are better for the environment and they fit more items which means less trips out to the car to bring them in the house.

I love celebrating Earth Day as well. For the past two years I have gone to river and park clean ups the weekend of April 22^nd. A team of people do a couple hours of work and all the trash that accumulates over the winter is easily removed! Last year on Earth Day I also Marched for Science! Earth Day is so important and it is so easy to change the world for the better if you just try.

~Laura!

On Birding!

Today's post is about one of my favorite outdoor activities: birding! I decided today was the day to write about it because I was supposed to go on a birding trip to Owl Woods in Rochester, but I couldn't go due to a horrible headache. I'm pretty bummed, but I figured I'd still devote today to our feathery friends!

On any given day you may find me inside because mostly I find the outside usually horrible, but at least once a month you'll find me outside in the woods looking for birds! I am one of those people who never really thought of birds. Why is that when they are the most visible wildlife we see? Why because they are so common of course! I mostly ignored them. I noticed them, but I never really tried to tell them apart other than the obvious. I knew the easy ones like crows, pigeons, robins, cardinals, blue jays and owls (but not what kind of owl). Other than that I had really no idea. Once I realized that I only truly could identify a few types of birds I was disappointed in myself. I began birding because I wanted to learn more about them!

What is birding, though? Basically, it is just watching the birds. Watching, observing, listening, and learning about them! You can do this no matter where you are! Sure it helps to have binoculars, but you don't really need them. And if you do get them they don't have to be über fancy or anything.

I saw this black capped
chickadee at our nest box!

I am lucky enough to have a pair of nice binoculars that my parents bought me for Christmas, but my everyday birding is done just by sitting at my window looking out at the bird feeder or on neighborhood walks!

I love birding because there are so many things to learn. I can't imagine knowing everything there is to know about ornithology, the study of birds. If you're gonna go out birding you may want to get a field guide. It doesn't have to be fancy, and you don't even have to buy one as I'm sure your library probably has a good one! I have a pocket size guide to birds that are just in New York State. These are helpful for identifying the birds that aren't always recognizable at first, like a male cardinal.

I'm getting better at recognizing birds that I see pretty often, but what I'm still horrible at is recognizing the sounds of birds. I think it would be nice to be able to tell which bird it is I'm hearing because that is the first thing most people notice first: the birdsong that is waking them up at the crack of dawn. But, goodness, it is almost stupidly hard. I can't even remember the common birdsongs. I think the only one I can identify with any ease is the red wing black bird which makes a wholly ridiculous sound of CONK-ER-REE! 

Birding was the first outdoor activity I really looked forward to doing. I love birds now. I love the sheer amount of them. I also love how loving them can bring people together. I go to a birding 101 class every month and there is a core group of people who have never missed a class! Our instructor is amazing! She is so knowledgeable and she is extremely patient.

I didn't need binoculars to
see this Canada Goose strut
its stuff!

She has a passion for birding that she is eager to pass along. She took me under her wing and sometimes takes me on adventures outside of class to look for birds. It's with her that I took my two first place winnings in a photo contest, it was with her that I first saw a foggy sunrise, and it was with her that I was supposed to go searching for owls with at the crack of dawn this morning. I don't think I would care as much about birding now if it wasn't for her enthusiasm! And my birding has helped me greatly as a wildlife rehabber! The more I know about birds the easier it is for me to take care of them!

Birds are fascinating. They are so common and yet we still don't know everything about them. Like how do catbirds know they are a catbird when they were raised by a different species of bird after they were hidden in a different nest? Why do birds of paradise dance so specifically to capture the attention of a mate? How can crows identify faces? How can some crows make tools? How can crows be so smart? (Basically, how do crows become crows? How?! I love crows). Why are some birds so colorful when others are really dull? It is really just their environment? If so why are sparrows all mostly brown when the blue jay is so bright and they both live in my neighborhood? It is all so mysterious!

I hope this post has made you curious about birds and that maybe next time you see a bird you'll try to figure out who it is or when you hear a bird singing you'll wonder who's song it is!

~Laura!

On Penpals and Letter Writing!

In honor of the Month of Letters Challenge and International Correspondence Writing Month, I decided to write a post about penpaling!

I met my first penpal when I started this blog. She was a fellow book blogger and we hit it off right away. We only exchanged a couple letters but have remained friends on Facebook. I missed writing to her and to my best friends who have long since graduated from their far away colleges and have come back home. I missed writing to penpals, but didn't know who to write to!

Then NerdCon: Nerdfighteria happened last February. I joined a Facebook group of attendees and near the end of March, a woman posted there asking for penpals. Well, she got so many responses that the people who commented started to write each other and TADA! Suddenly, I had found my people! That led me to posting on Instagram a photo of my outgoing letters and I discovered a low-key sub-culture of snailmailers!

I have 10 penpals from around the States. I adore them all and they all amazing! 10 penpals is sometimes a lot for me to handle. Because no matter what I do I always get at least half of their replies during the same week! I feel forever behind in responding, but they never mind. I do have a system though. I reply to the letters in the order in which I receive them!

But how do I keep every one of those 10 people straight? Besides them all being different people with their own style and lives which makes it pretty easy, I also keep a notebook of everyone's favorites, their hobbies, birthdays, pet names, and things like that! Before I send out a letter I jot down the highlights of what I wrote to them so that when they reply back I remember what it was I even said in the first place.

But what do we write about? Everything! At the beginning it's introducing yourself and getting to know your new friend. I've been writing for almost a year now so a lot of my penpals are not so much penpals as they are friends that live in a different state. What do you talk to your friends about? Everything. We catch each other up on school and work and what we did that month or last weekend, what our pets did, our family, holidays, bad days, good days, everything! And the letters don't have to be long, they don't even have to be letters at all! During school some of my penpals may send a postcard every couple months just so I know they are just stuck in academic hell and will write whenever they can!

Why even write a letter? Because it's important to not let something die just because it isn't as "easy" anymore. Written correspondence was the only way for people to communicate for such a long time that letter writing was commonplace and incredibly important. History shows that the most remembered figures are remembered more clearly through the letters they wrote (and journals they kept, but journalling will be another post one day). Some of my favorite letter writers are Alexander Hamilton, Queen Victoria, and Vincent Van Gogh! Sitting down to spend an hour using your hand to write a letter also helps you relax and reflect on your day, week, or month (depending on how often you write back and forth). It helps you see what your life looks like from another perspective. My life can be boring to me but different and exciting to someone else. It's a chance to get to know other people and keep a lost art going!

Nowadays, writing letters is much less common and sometimes even confuses people. Like my big brother who was extremely confused as to why I was writing a 10 page long letter when I could have just texted. He didn't get the point at all. But this past Christmas I sent out cards that included a wax seal to close the envelope and several of my friends flipped out! I got so many texts about how cool the seals were and that they'd never seen one of those outside a Hogwarts letter. It also prompted a bunch of people to send their own Christmas cards back to me and on to their family and friends as well, thus spreading not just the holiday cheer but the love of posted mail, too!

 It's also really fun! Stamps and post marks are something I never thought would be so exciting, but they are! Seeing a letter in your mail box that is post marked from across the country and thinking about everything it must have seen on it's way to me is extraordinary! And don't get me started on stamps. Philately is COOL! Stationary and cards, rubber stamps and washi tapes are all things I did not care about but do now! But what's great about writing letters is that it doesn't have to cost much more than that 50 cent stamp because you can get envelopes in bulk and regular notebook paper is always pretty cheap. You can buy stamps at your local grocery or pharmacy usually! And just shove the letter in your mailbox and your postal carrier will take it with them when they deliver your mail! Easy peasy!

So in summary, all this to say: penpalling rocks! Writing letters, sending snail mail, buying stamps, postcards and stickers, and mail art is just cooler and longer lasting than sending a text. That's why I'm so excited to take part in my first Month of Letters Challenge where you write and send something in the mail every day the post runs!

Write more,

Text less,

~Laura!

On Bravery and Backpacking

Hello there, fellow Bookworms!

In the months leading up to my backpacking trip the number one thing that people want to talk to me about is a variation on,

"Aren't you afraid of going by yourself?" and "Wow, you're so brave to be going by yourself." 

I'm never really quite sure how to respond to this. I don't feel braver than anyone else. The truth is I'm going solo because I couldn't talk anyone else into going with me, not because I am exceptionally brave. 

I don't remember when I decided that I was going to backpack through Europe. It was a combination of reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson and Rory and Lorelai planning their own on Gilmore Girls. I think I've had the idea vaguely in my head since maybe 2007 or 2008 but it wasn't until about 2010 or so that I decided that it was gonna happen. Originally, I wanted to go with my best friend, but when it become increasingly clear the closer I got to my college graduation that there would be no way she would be able to go. So for about 4 years I was going backpacking with her, but if I'm being honest when I envisioned going she was never actually there with me in my mind's eye. I was always by myself, doing what I wanted when I wanted without anyone to run the ideas past. Just me.

However, going by myself wasn't actually an option according to my parents. So I scrambled and tried to see if anyone else wanted to go. Plenty of people thought it was cool and said they'd like to but couldn't afford it or couldn't get time off. I was starting to give up hope. And then, while literally standing in line with my cap and gown on, ready to walk into the gym to receive my diploma (holder), a friend said she'd do it. She'd make it work. Suddenly the trip was back on!

The friend who offered to help me achieve my dream was more of an acquaintance than actually friend at that point though so in the coming months as we planned we learned about each other (and did become fast friends!), but as much as we liked each other it was glaringly apparent that we have VERY DIFFERENT IDEAS about travel. The 3 month spontaneous backpacking, staying in hostels, eating rough in Europe trip became a month in the UK with a home base, restaurants, and wifi. It was neither of our faults but I came to realize that, besides the fact that she truly couldn't afford it my dream, there was no way either of us would enjoy the trip. It wasn't fair for her to spend money on a trip that was just for me. And so it got cancelled. 

I was devastated. I felt like I couldn't start my life until I went on this trip (I still feel like this, honestly). That's when my mom offered to do a week in London, the place on the top of my list, if I could help pay for it. I LEAPED onto it, thinking that if that's as close as I could get I would take it.

However, as great as I knew going to London with my mom would be it just wasn't enough. It was not backpacking through Europe. But I knew that if I went alone without my parents' blessing, everything would be miserable. Then personal catastrophe struck and I spiraled into a deep dark depression that I saw no way out of. My saint of a mother recognized this and said that I should go solo if I really wanted to. She would be worried, of course, but she knew I could handle going alone. Now if only everyone else in my life was like her....

Other than comments about how "brave" I am the questions I am most often asked are a variation of the following:

"Aren't you afraid something will happen? Aren't you afraid you'll get mugged or oh, God, raped by a stranger?! You are a young woman alone and vulnerable in a foreign country! It is foolish of you to be so naive about your safety. The world is dangerous place for single woman!"

Honest to God, next time someone comes at me with this crap I may punch them in face. It is infuriating. Society dictates that women need a man around to be safe and to that I say f*** you. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I am intelligent enough to avoid dangerous situations. The world is only as dangerous as you make it.
If a woman doesn't do something because "society" tells her not to that, to me, is even worse than society saying it in the first place! Nothing is going to change the perceptive about solo female travel unless more people like me stand up and call out their shenanigans. If you think the world is dangerous then don't go, don't broaden your horizons, don't live, stay home but stop bothering those of us who could not care less about what "society" says is proper. Screw you, Society, I've got a life to live. 

"Aren't you afraid something will happen? Aren't you afraid ISIS will plan another attack and you'll be blown up?"

If I don't go, they win. If I don't go, I will spend the rest of my life wondering "what if." I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, but that's not gonna stop me from going outside. You think I'm being caviler about my safety? Never forget that this rant is coming from someone who sees the dangers in everything, big or small, including using our gas stove because it could potentially, maybe, but probably not explode! Internally, I am Aunt Josephine from A Series of Unfortunate Events, I see danger in everything. I see worst case scenarios and make contingency plans in my head about everything from making soup to, yes, what would happen in case a bomb or active shooter.  But unlike Aunt Jo I refuse to let that stop me. I don't let in run my life. Terrorism has a 100% failure rate. Every city terrorized comes out stronger. Don't let the terrorists win. Travel, go see that not everything is horrible. 

My mom, who was the number one opponent of going solo has become my number one supporter. She will fight you if you say I shouldn't go alone. Why shouldn't I go alone? I am a level headed, intelligent, independent young woman with a dream and a determination to make that dream become a reality! You know what? Maybe I am braver than I give myself credit for. And you should be too. Don't let anyone tell you you CAN'T because if you listen to them you definitely WON'T.

I leave on my month and a half long solo backpacking trip in under 2 weeks and I am not afraid. 

~Laura!