Heart & Soul

Exposed


Dear Readers,

Growing up, I was a journaler. An emotional teenager with plenty to write about, the angst of what I thought were great distresses in life, a form of writing therapy that laid a path which would later become my choice of a degree in journalism. Although journalism never panned out, partially due to a fear of interviewing because I was shy and not very assertive, I learned a new form of expression in photography. I had signed up for a golf lesson my senior year as an extracurricular course, but then made the switch during the first week of classes to a photojournalism class, and found a love that has molded and developed the past few years. I'm finally at a point where everything is appearing to line up... and it feels great. The little moments in life where you don't think they will amount to much at the time, but later become monumental. Then learning to recognize those moments and really embrace them while they are occuring. This last one has really developed for me within the past couple of years once in the workforce and being far away from family, the economy, learning to save and wait and wait and wait... knowning one day everything will come together... if you believe the glass is half full.

Why all this fluff now? Well, for one, good things are to come I believe with my new ventures. I feel that everything I've experienced in the past few years have culminated to this time in my life, and I can't wait to share it with you. The second reason is, I've realized that when I first began blogging I didn't want this to be a place for journaling and exposing myself on the internet. I wanted it to be filled with the kind of beautiful things I viewed on all my favorite blogs. But in the end, I realized I spent more time on blogs where I actually saw into the lives of other inspiring women, and I realized I've been slightly reluctant in showing who I am, maybe because I was still trying to figure it out. My inspiration dwindled as I struggled to leave out some personalization, therefore my creativity suffered.

Now, I'm looking forward to the adventures ahead, and sharing more with you.

So, for starters, here is where Girl Meets Independent Travel...

For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, you know I have a great love for travel. This photo is from the trip where it all came together. Booking a last minute trip to Switzerland, and Northern Italy, here I sit with a gelato in front of the Isola Bella Mansion on Lake Maggiore, Italy. (More on this story to come... and yes, there is always a story.)

"What is it with tourists and ice cream?" - From the movie, My Life in Ruins. If you loved My Big Fat Greek Wedding, love to travel, and have an affinity for romantic comedies, you will love this movie.

P.S.  Nothing beats lemon gelato in Italy!

- Nicolette